KUCHING, Aug 5 (Bernama) — Visitors to the Sarawak edition of the Malaysian Family Aspirations Tour (JAKM) here, have the opportunity to take part in the traditional game known as ‘Batak Lampung’.
The traditional game or sport of the Iban community is among the folk sports featured at the Sukan Rakyat booth in conjunction with the tour programme held at Dataran Perayaan in Petra Jaya here.
Youth and Sports officer at the Sarawak Youth, Sports and Entrepreneur Development Ministry, John Nasuil said Batak Lampung is commonly played during the Gawai Dayak Festival at longhouses.
“It has the same concept as the tug-of-war game. Two persons are required to sit on the ground and pull a wooden stick given to them to their side.
“The person who is able to maintain his position is the winner,” he told Bernama here today.
John said Batak Lampung is also a game that tests the physical strength of the players.
“Therefore, we divided the game into several categories, namely lightweight, middleweight and heavyweight,” he said.
Apart from Batak Lampung, visitors to the Sukan Rakyat booth can also try their hands at other tradition games such as ‘batu seremban’, ‘pangkak guli’ and ‘tingting’.
JAKM is held based on the concept of inclusiveness, togetherness and gratitude by depicting the integrity of the country which is tied to the perfect education value in a family, with the Keluarga Malaysia phrase considered more inclusive as it cuts across religion and race.
Various interesting activities have been lined up to enliven the three-day event which began today, with the involvement of 28 government agencies that provide assistance and services to visitors.
Source: BERNAMA News Agency