Hjh Saemah Zulkefli

THE Panaga Indonesia Community Club yesterday held a “Sambutan Hari Indonesia 2009″ at the Panaga Club in Seria, an event that showcased Indonesian culture and products including handicrafts and delicacies.

The activity, the first of its kind to be organised by the club since its establishment last year, was also aimed at fostering cooperation with the community and locals in the country, especially the staff of Brunei Shell Petroleum Company Sdn Bhd (BSP).

The club’s chairman, Billman Marapaung, said that among the goals of the celebration was to promote the heritage of Indonesia through popular traditional dance and musical performances.

Billman added that the celebration was meant to promote the country’s traditional culture and products as well as to bring tourism to the country.

Among the items on display was a dish called “Tumpang” which is made from yellow rice and shaped into a volcano-like structure. The Tumpang featured yesterday was placed in a woven basket made from long beans, and was decorated with chicken, vegetables and other ingredients.

According to Billman, Tumpang, which symbolises gratitude, is only made on special occasions such as during birthdays, weddings and especially during traditional festivities.

Traditional musical instruments such as the `angklong’, ‘gamelan’ also became the focus of the celebration, as was the presentation of traditional Indonesian fashion wear such as the `kain batek’ and songket’. Dance performances such as merak’, saman’ and `sajojo’ were also on show.

In addition to the handicrafts, guests at the celebration took the opportunity to witness, and purchase at reasonable prices, artworks using kain batik and kain songket.

The Panaga Indonesian Community Club has more than 70 members who are currently employed with BSP or with its contractor companies.

Yesterday’s event, which was held in collaboration with BSP Sdn Bhd, was further made possible by two Indonesian companies in the country, namely Syarikat Besmindo and Rekayasa.

Billman also said the club will be more proactive with social work alongside other organisations in the country, especially in activities organised by BSP.

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