PAT 2025 Festival In Perlis Goes On Despite Muddy Conditions

ARAU, Feb 22 (Bernama) -- Heavy rain yesterday evening left the Perlis East Wind Festival 2025 (PAT 2025) site in Kampung Lat Seribu, Tambun Tulang covered in thick mud but all 25 planned activities will continue, with some at new locations.

Menteri Besar Mohd Shukri Ramli said some events will be relocated due to the muddy conditions, including the modern kite show, which will now take place at Dataran Lok 9 in Kuala Perlis, and the hot air balloon event, which will be held near the Perlis State Assembly Complex in Kangar.

The Perlis asam pedas, tepung talam, pulut udang, bubur and dodol competitions will now take place at Yayasan Pok dan Kassim, Pengkalan Asam in Kangar. The tug-of-war contest has been moved to the Kangar Industrial Training Institute, while the paramotor event will take place in an open field at Kangar Jaya.

“The Kenduri Rakyat (community feast) will proceed as planned at Kampung Lat Seribu since preparations are already complete. We welcome everyone to join us and enjoy the kurma daging feast, with 4,000 meal packs available for visitors.

“Other activities, including the padi field netball and volleyball matches, mud challenge, Perlis wau helang kite showcase, cycling on a plank and the East Wind Run, will continue at Kampung Lat Seribu,” he said at a press conference after inspecting the PAT 2025 site last night.

Now in its 13th edition, PAT 2025 runs for three days starting yesterday.

Organised by the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture in collaboration with the Perlis state government, the festival is managed by the National Department for Culture and Arts Perlis and the Perlis State Cultural Council.

Mohd Shukri remains optimistic that the festival will remain engaging despite venue adjustments. The state government has also apologised to those affected, including traders operating 170 business lots at the festival, acknowledging that the situation was beyond control.

“We sincerely apologise to everyone impacted. In such circumstances, we must all share the burden, be open-hearted and accept Allah’s will,” he said, adding that there will be no refunds for affected traders, as expenses for tents and other facilities have already been incurred.

Meanwhile, he confirmed that the PAT 2025 opening ceremony, which was to be officiated by the Raja of Perlis, Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Jamalullail, this evening has been cancelled due to the muddy conditions at the festival site.

-- BERNAMA