KUCHING: Five tourists from Belgium who are here for the first time attended the Chinese New Year open house hosted by the Kuching South City Council (MBKS) at Dewan Masyarakat, Jalan Padungan yesterday.
They enjoyed the delicious food and colourful lion dance performance.
Most of all, they were impressed by the mingling of people from different backgrounds; the Chinese New Year celebration was participated not only by the Chinese but also the Malays, Dayaks and Indians.
Speaking on behalf of her friends, Yael Hackier from Brussels, Belgium said they admired the multicultural society and peacefulness in Sarawak.
“The celebration you have here is really amazing… It is very nice, and people are very sweet,” she said.
“This is our first visit to Kuching. We just arrived here on Thursday and will be holidaying here for two weeks.. And I have already loved and admired the place.
“It is perfect… We enjoyed the food, the lion dance performance… Thank you, Kuching for the great experience.”
New Sarawak Tribune also managed to interview some of MBKS staff and the public.
Esah Seddli, 46, from Kampung Tabuan Hilir, said she loved to attend any open house organised by MBKS during the Chinese New Year, Hari Raya and Gawai Dayak.
“Aside from enjoying the food, we get to meet other people and make friends with new people,” she said.
She hopes MBKS will continue the open house tradition so that people of various races and religious backgrounds can come together.
Govinda Nair, 47, a MBKS staff, said: “Although I am Indian, I feel very happy to be part of this celebration because this is one of the ways we are able to create stronger bonds among the staff and the community.”
Vanessa Wee, 27, is proud the open house attracts not only the Chinese but people of other races including foreigners.
“I hope the celebration can be included in the tourism calendar as a annual event so that more people, especially tourists will know about it,” she said.
Maria Chuzen, 24, another MBKS staff, hopes more youths will attend the open houses during festivals so that ties among the different races can be enhanced.
“We must ensure this peace, harmony and open house tradition will continue in years to come. We must remain united for the sake of our future generations,” added the Bidayuh girl from Bau.
