Wan Junaidi delighted with Japanese students visiting S’wak to study Sarawak Malay language and culture
Wan Junaidi (third, left) seen putting on a traditional Malay male headgear known as a ‘tengkolok’ on one of the Japanese at last night’s event. — Image by Shimon on
KUCHING (September 3): Datuk Seri, Minister of the Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and Law), Dr. Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar, expressed his joy at seeing the 10 Japanese who came to Sarawak to study Sarawak Malay culture and language.
According to him, they made the right choice in learning the Sarawak Malay language and culture, as the language differs from its counterpart on the peninsula.
Wan Junaidi had the opportunity to meet the 10 Japanese, who are currently on a visitation program, at Kampung Santubong here at an event held at the Rumah WI parking lot on Friday evening.
“I want to commend these 10 people for their efforts in coming to this country to learn Malay culture and language. Learning cultures and languages other than your own is always beneficial,” he said in his speech during of the event.
He also expressed his hopes that Sarawakians will also travel to Japan one day to do the same by organizing a tour program to learn about Japanese culture and language.
According to the program organizers, their visit to Sarawak is the first leg of their 17-day program.
Meanwhile, in a post on Wan Junaidi’s Facebook page, he expressed his joy at their visit to Sarawak.
“It was a beautiful start to September when I had the opportunity to meet 10 young people from Japan at this event known as ‘Kembara Anak Samurai ke Sarawak’. These big-hearted individuals are between 18 and 21 years old.
“With this group of young people, there are two senior students studying Malay language and culture. It shows that age is not a barrier to learning,” he said in the message written in Malay.
In the post, he also said that as a native of Sarawak, he was proud to see how serious they were in approaching and deepening the culture of the Sarawak community, especially in Santubong.
He also said he was happy to see them attending the event in traditional Malay attire.
“These children are exposed to the Malay culture of the state of Sarawak, especially the daily life of the people of Kampung Santubong. I enjoyed watching their very creative and harmonious performances while being amazed to see their seriousness in speaking Malay.
“Let’s hope that this ceremony will remain a sweet memory for them. What they see and experience tonight is only a small part of the 1,001 peculiarities and beauties of the beloved land of Santubong,” he said.
The event began with a ‘haderah’ performance and was followed by a ‘pencak silat’ performance.
The 10 people will then visit Johor, Malacca, Perak, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya as well as the neighboring country of Singapore.
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