Colourful Lun Bawang Festival Returns with Huge Success

The 35th Edition Welcomed More than 3,000 Participants and 10,000 Visitors

The annual Irau Aco Lun Bawang organised by the Lun Bawang Association of Sarawak held recently in Lawas, Sarawak was a huge success – the first since the last edition in 2019 due to the pandemic.

The 35th edition saw 3,000 participants participating in various cultural events and sporting activities like football, volleyball, badminton, Zumba, and traditional games where participants from the Lun Bawang communities gathered from at least 3 countries including Malaysia, Brunei, and Indonesia.

“We are excited to finally have the festival running after a long wait, and to see and meet with many familiar faces after a while was good. The support the Association received was tremendous especially from the Tourism ministries at the federal and state level, and also private sectors. We certainly look forward to next year where the annual event will be held in June,” said Mdm Dolphina Balang, President, Lun Bawang Association of Sarawak.

Throughout the festival, more than 10,000 visitors visited the three key locations where Irau Aco Lun Bawang 2022 was held in Lawas namely Dataran Bandar Lawas, Arena Lawas, and Hotel Seri Malaysia Lawas. The festival was officially graced by YB Dato’ Henry Sum Agong, Deputy Transport Ministry of Malaysia and Member Parliament of Lawas who is also the patron of the Association and witnessed by YB Tuan Baru Bian, Ba’ Kelalan state assemblyman and the Association’s patron.

 

Dolphina added, “This year, the festival’s theme is Culture Inspires Unity and with that, we hope to instil unity not just amongst the Lun Bawang community but also the various communities in Lawas and Limbang division especially. As Irau Aco Lun Bawang is an iconic festival in Sarawak’s tourism calendar, it is our vision to ensure everyone is welcome to be part of this festival.”

The festival usually held in June had to be postponed to September this year due a few circumstances including ensuring the festival is held in a safer environment for everyone and allowing the relaxation of borders, especially between Brunei and Indonesia where it would allow ease of logistic arrangements.

“This year, we took many considerations to ensure the success of staging a big scale festival. On behalf of the organising committee, I thank all the agencies and also sponsors who have supported and made the organising of this year’s festival a smooth success. We look forward to more support for the next year as we anticipate a bigger festival especially welcoming international tourists to the northern region of Sarawak,” said Mr Jude Benjamin Lisa, organising chairman of Irau Aco Lun Bawang 2022.

The highlight of the festival was the crowning of its beauty queen and warrior named Ruran Ulung and Padan Liu Burung where winners this year were Kelly Raywyn Cahill representing Kuala Lumpur and Jhonson Elsen from Lawas Damit respectively. This year also saw the festival featuring star-studded performances lined up during the cultural nights including Alena Murang, Meruked, At Adau and, Peter Rining Paris.

Irau Aco Lun Bawang 2022 is supported by Tourism Malaysia, Sarawak Tourism Board and the Tourism Task Force Group Limbang Division with main sponsors including Ambang Angkasa Sdn Bhd, Curtin University Malaysia, Langkawi Pure, Malaysia Airlines and MAS Wings.

For more event highlights, visit Irau Aco Lun Bawang on Facebook and Instagram.