SRI AMAN: Thousands of people thronged this town during the three-day Pesta Benak, which began last Friday and ended on Sunday. Listed as one of the State’s top 10 tourism events, various preparations were made involving civil servants, non-governmental organisations and the public prior to the event.
Among the major events were the Batang Lupar Regatta, Benak Bazaar, cultural stage shows, exhibition booths and the army community programme.
Other events included the bikers gathering, Miss Kebaya Benak, Mr Benak, Miss Tourism Benak, Benak Kitchen, sports events and singing competitions.
Through a phone interview, Assistant Minister of Community Wellbeing, Datuk Francis Harden Hollis said Pesta Benak 2017 was a big success, considering the fact that 52,000 visitors were recoded furing the festival. “We had 15,000 visitors on the first day, 20,000 on the second day and 17,000 on the third day, making a total of 52,000 visitors,” said Harden.
Harden expressed his appreciation to all those involved in making the festival a success and hoped that it would continue to make Sri Aman famous in the years to come.
“The Chief Minister Datuk Pat ing g i Abang Johari had announced an allocation of RM5 million to upgrade the waterfront here.
“The project takes 18 months to complete and I believe that Pesta Benak 2019 will be able to draw more visitors to this town,” he said.
