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River cruising the way to celebrate MerdekaRiver cruising the way to celebrate Merdeka
03 Sep 2006
M. Hamzah Jamaludin
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TEMERLOH: In the early years following the country’s Independence, villagers here celebrated the occasion each year by cruising along the Pahang river on gaily decorated bamboo rafts.
However, as progress came to this small town, the tradition began to lose its popularity and it was eventually abandoned for more conventional ways of merry making.
This year, though, the Pahang river was once again a buzz of activities as the town, which is famous for its mouthwatering patin masak tempoyak (patin fish in fermented durian gravy), celebrated the nation’s 49th birthday.
Fifteen colourful bamboo rafts made a return at the Fiesta Mesra Merdeka and cruised along the river accompanied by more than 40 boats carrying the Jalur Gemilang.
The villagers and staff of various agencies had been busy putting the rafts together since the middle of last month.
They used bamboos from the banks of the Pahang and Semantan rivers to build the 6m by 2m rafts and decorated them with palm fronds and other fruits and vegetation from the forest.
"It was hard work but we really enjoyed it," said Seberang Temerloh Youth Association committee member Mohd Sahar Mustafa, who led his eight-member team in building and decorating a raft out of bamboos, palm fronds, coconuts and several types of leaves found in their village.
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