Horray!!! I was so happy with the coming of Pesta Kaamatan (Harvest Festival) grand finale, the biggest cultural and tourism event at KDCA Penampang, from May 30 to 31 annually. In fact, Pesta Kaamatan 2005 is the FIRST photo gallery of MySabah.com. That time I was a total newbie on photography, so most photos turned out blur. However, my excitement never cool down. Normally, I would stay there from 8am to 5pm for 2 days, just to take pictures. I was so dedicated that last year I almost got sun stroke. I sat under a shaded area for hour and could feel that my blood was boiling and restless. The theme this year is “Harmony in Cultural Diversity.” But I think it should be “Cuteness in Cultural Diversity” coz I found many “cute” traditional costumes this year.

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Usually I started taking photos early in the morning, when there were less people and the sunlight was soft. As I am getting more demanding on the photo quality, I would not be pleased to see the background of the subject is full of people, commercial banners, cars, and other unwanted objects. I would also request them to remove their name tag and bring them to a place with “cleaner” background for photo-shooting. Many other photographers there also tried to shoot at very low angle to avoid the crowded and cluttered background.

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The two new ethnic groups came here this year are Makiang people from Tongod and Kolobuan from Penangah. These places are so remote that you can’t find them on common Sabah map. Basically, these places are right in the middle of Sabah (above Maliau and Imbak). Many of them came to Kota Kinabalu city the first time, and they were surprised to see so many fans (photographers) interested in them.

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Every year I would visit all the exhibition huts, go to house to house, to take pictures. You also can try the local food / wine, see the hand-made handicraft, listening to traditional music, and even dance with the cultural dance performers. Sadly, due to pouring rain in the 1st day afternoon and Unduk Ngadau pageant in the 2nd day afternoon, I took very few photos this year (SIGH~ SIGH~ SIGH~).

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To be honest, I think the Pesta Kaamatan 2007 showed little or no improvement compared to last year. In year 2005, we had 6 exhibition huts for 6 different ethnic groups, now we have 3 only. This year is Visit Malaysia Year 2007 leh, how come it displayed so few promotion banners on the street this year? Except the two big Sompoton at KDCA entrance, I didn’t see anything new. Why the budget seems to “shrink” year after year, when government says this event is getting more and more important each year?

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Photos taken in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo

The carnival was from May 10 to 12 at Gaya Street. Frankly, they had carnivals for Christmas, Chinese New Year, etc., but all look the same to me. Same stalls, same firework, same programme… A bit bored already… The only new stuff is a Rungus longhouse, where handicrafts were sold and traditional Rungus dance was performed regularly.

One thing that caught my attention was the two long queues at the Traffic Police booth, as if there was some big sales going on, always full of people. Seem like there are more drivers kena saman nowadays. This sort of 50% discount promotion really pissed me off. “Good” citizens (like me), who pay on time, will have to pay in FULL, while those who purposely delay payment will get special offer later, WTF. This is how our country “penalises” good citizens and users. If you don’t give them a damn, they will beg you to pay, by giving you deep discount, lucky draw, free gift, etc. So slowly the people learn to be “smart”. The government keeps on blaming Malaysians are “last-minute men”, without realising that they are THE ONE who have been cultivating and promoting such bad habit.

There were still thousands of people came to this event, but relatively less people if compared to previous carnivals. May is a month full of grand events and celebration. Probably people get tired of it. For them, it just looked like a Gaya Street Sunday Market in night time.

This should be a Harvest Festival celebration for KK district. 15 KadazanDusun ladies were joining the Unduk Ngadau (Harvest Festival Queen) beauty pageant. I didn’t take their photos this time, as it was too dark and the stage was far away for any clear shot. I have too many Unduk Ngadau photos already.

Don’t know why I sound so negative… The carnivals become bigger and bigger, but also becoming more and more formal, with more boring protocol setting. I still prefer it in small stage setting and people can gather near to enjoy the performance. If you want me to sit more than 30 feet away to watch a show, I would prefer watching TV at home.

Photos taken in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo