SIBU: Kelab Gagung Sibu Sarawak (with its acronym KGS) celebrated its first anniversary at Rejang Restaurant here recently.
Member of Parliament for Kanowit, Datuk Aaron Ago Dagang graced the event.
In his remarks at the function, chairman of the club, Jabang Anak Juntan, who is also the Secretary of Kapit District Council, explained that the formation of the club was mooted at Rumah Charlie in Kanowit.
At that time, he said a group of the young Ibans that he and Sammy Ngelambai led were crazy about wearing Iban warrior costumes, locally known as “gagung” and “lelanjang”.
“We were involved in a welcoming ceremony for a panel of judges from West Malaysia as Rumah Charlie was selected as one of the finalists for the national level Traditional Longhouse Competition in early 2015.
“Our second appearance to showcase our Iban traditional warrior costumes was during the Governor’s Birthday Celebration in Sibu.
“It was a turning point for us as we received an overwhelming response from the people, especially the Iban community.
“It was from there that we came up with the idea to set up Kelab Gagung Sarawak to promote the Iban warrior costumes,” said Jabang.
He disclosed that the first meeting on the formation of the club was held on 15 December at a restaurant in Sibu Jaya.
At the meeting, Jabang was elected as the first chairman of Kelab Gagung Sarawak.
His committee members comprise individuals from all walks of life and localities including Sibu, Kanowit and Kapit.
Patros Tandang was elected as the vice chairman while the secretary is Martin Anak Bilun, assisted by Paul Nelson Sindu.
Steve Anak Rom was elected as the treasurer, with Samuel Albert Tegap as his assistant.
The publicity chief is Favian Masing Lintang while the event manager is Embat Lala.
The other committee members are Patrick Gerijeh Dominic Belansai, Edwin Maring, Sammy Ngelambai, Jonny Sain and Feron Giang.
A renowned local lawyer, Chambai Lindong was appointed as the club’s legal advisor.
“After the formation of the club, we applied for registration to the Registrar of Society (ROS). I am glad that the club has been registered as Kelab Gagung Sibu Sarawak (KGS) on 3 March, 2016.
“We are now a fully legal registered club with its distinctive logo and we have the constitution as our guideline and this means we have no fear of carrying out our activities,” said Jabang who congratulated all the members for their efforts and support.
To date, the club has 100 registered members, mostly life members, from various districts and divisions throughout the state.
Since its formation, the club has carried out about 30 activities including taking part in the Independence Day celebration in Miri, the “Sejiwa Senada” programme in Kapit and launching of the Rural Transformation Centre (RTC) at Layar, Betong by the Prime Minister.
