Penampang: Datuk Seri Musa Aman hoped the spirit of the Pesta Kaamatan will keep encouraging Malaysians in Sabah to strengthen unity and cohesiveness to ensure continued stability, peace and prosperity in the State.
He said traditionally the festival was for the KDM community to express thanksgiving for a bountiful harvest and the fact is that the festival is a platform to unite the people in line with the 1Malaysia concept.
"We can see and feel this with the attendance, participation and commitment of the other ethnic races not only in making this festival successful but also to make us better understand, know each other and accept the culture as well as customs of the KDM community as a treasure that must be preserved by us together," he said.
Speaking at the closing of the two-day State level Pesta Kaamatan celebration at Hongkod Koisaan, KDCA, Monday, Musa said apart from giving the opportunity for the KDM community to commemorate their cultural heritage the festival also assists the Government in promoting tourism.
He said the State Government through the Tourism, Culture and Environment Ministry as well as the Information, Communication and Cultural Ministry had given the highest recognition to Pesta Kaamatan by elevating it to a national celebration through the Malaysia Open House concept.
"This is the uniqueness and speciality of Malaysians in Sabah that have been our traditions all this while," he said.
Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Seri Joseph Pairin Kitingan, who was the main organising committee chairman, believed the harmony and joyful feeling of the people of Sabah during the Pesta Kaamatan could not be felt by many others in the country.
"Living harmoniously in a multi-racial in Malaysia is a huge pleasure which must be viewed at seriously by all quarters to be the thrust of the nation's strength and stability," he said.
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