KUCHING: A trip for two to Paris onboard Malaysia Airlines and a brand new Proton X70 vehicle were Sarawak Tourism Board’s (STB) grand prizes for its RWMF 2025 Skills Contest.
STB Chief Executive Officer, Sharzede Salleh Askor, described the skills contest as an essential element for STB.
“It’s a new event that we included in our Rainforest World Music Festival. It is our second year,” she said, emphasising that creativity, originality and authenticity were the main judging criteria.
Lau Hui Hua, 72, from Sarikei, won the #MYRWMFTimeforPariswithMH contest with a Sarawak-inspired cultural fashion creation and received return flight tickets for two to Paris, presented by Malaysia Airlines, the festival’s Diamond Sponsor and official airline partner.
Meanwhile, Nur Farah Ain Kamshul from Kuching, 29, a first-time festival-goer who recently relocated from Semenanjung Malaysia, emerged as the #RWMFxProtonX70 Challenge grand prize winner with a lively dance/trend-based reel, earning a Proton X70 presented by Platinum Sponsor PROTON.
Sharzede expressed delight that both winners are Sarawakians, praising their authentic creativity over online popularity.
Farah, who described watching Siberian band Otyken as “unlike anything I had ever seen,” said she joined the contest on a whim, encouraged by her husband.
Meanwhile, Lau said he will share his Paris prize with his beloved wife, calling it “a second honeymoon.”
Sharzede highlighted that the Skills Contest broadens RWMF beyond music, encouraging participants to express Sarawak’s Culture, Adventure, Nature, Food and Festivals (CANFF) through fresh ideas.
“This is something that we would like to see, people enjoying it more than just a music festival,” she said.
She also announced that RWMF 2026 will take place from June 26 to 28, with the theme “Regenerations: Roots & Rhythms,” celebrating traditions passed down and reimagined through modern creativity.
“The significance of next year’s theme is closely tied to the fact that it will be our 29th year.
“We chose “Regenerations: Roots and Rhythms” to remind people why this festival began and to highlight the importance of sustainability and purpose.
“The theme calls on us to remember our indigenous groups and the rich music traditions of Sarawak, while also celebrating how these traditions are continually reimagined for the future,” she said.
