Traditional Attire, Cuisine Draws Crowd At Southern Zone MADANI Rakyat 2024 Programme

JOHOR BAHRU, Aug 15 (Bernama) -- The sight of nearly 20 individuals, elegantly dressed in a variety of colourful traditional outfits, holding woven trays filled with unique foods from different ethnic groups in the country, drew the attention of the public at the Southern Zone MADANI Rakyat 2024 Programme here today.

Beaming with smiles, all of them welcomed the crowd at the Ministry of National Unity's booth, cajoling visitors to sample the delicious traditional foods while occasionally explaining the uniqueness of each delicacy.

Among the attire showcased were the kebaya, baju kurung, puteri Perak, classic Indian attire, lehengas (Indian), Suluk (Sabah), Kadazandusun regalia (Sabah), Orang Ulu costume (Sarawak), Melanau ensemble (Sarawak), and Orang Asli garb.

The foods provided included traditional Kelantanese treats such as ‘Gelembung Buaya’ and traditional northern Peninsular Malaysia snacks like ‘akaq nyoq’, as well as mooncakes, ‘kuih bakul’, Indian delicacies ‘seedai’ and ‘boondi’ while Sabah and Sarawak dishes featured ‘amplang’, ‘latok’, ‘ambuyat’ and ‘kuih apong’.

National Unity Ministry principal assistant secretary, Datin Che Norshina Mohd Hashim, said that this initiative is one of the soft approaches to showcase and introduce the traditional foods and attire of various ethnic groups in the country to foster unity.

"Usually, when we hold programmes like this, we realise that many people are still unaware of the traditional foods and attire of other ethnic groups. That's why we take the initiative to promote the uniqueness of these traditions through programmes like this," she said when met by Bernama here today.

At the same time, children also had the opportunity to try on various traditional outfits at the booth and take photographs as mementoes.

Meanwhile, a visitor, Aslina Yahya, 34, from Johor Bahru, said this was her first time trying latok, a popular starter dish from Sabah that she had only seen on social media before.

"I felt one serving wasn't enough; next time I go to Sabah, I think I'll buy latok in bulk," she said.

The Southern Zone MADANI Rakyat 2024 Programme, which covers the states of Johor, Negeri Sembilan, and Melaka is organised by the Prime Minister's Office through the Performance Acceleration Coordination Unit (PACU), in strategic collaboration with the Ministry of Economy and the Johor government.

It is being held for three days, starting today, at the Dataran Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) Skudai.

-- BERNAMA