EVERY year, Malaysians in Sarawak and Sabah will return to their hometowns to be with their families and loved ones for the annual rice harvest celebration, a time for indigenous communities to celebrate the padi spirits for the bounteous harvest.
In Sabah, the celebration is known as Pesta Kaamatan, which falls today and tomorrow.
Meanwhile, in Sarawak, the festive celebration is known as Pesta Gawai, which falls on Wednesday and Thursday.
Although both festivals are celebrated only in Sarawak and Sabah, the two celebrations share similarities in terms of good values promoted by other festivals celebrated by Malaysians, such as Hari Raya Aidilfitri, Chinese New Year, Deepavali and Christmas.
Apart from nurturing tolerance, unity and harmony, the Gawai and Kaamatan celebrations also teach the importance of strong family bonds as well as the need to be grateful.
In conjunction with the two celebrations, Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas), which has been releasing Gawai- and Kaamatan-themed advertisements for several years, has released a web film specially produced in time for the annual celebrations.
Titled Renai, the web film is an inspiring story about the childhood of a little girl named Renai, who lived with her mother in a longhouse tucked in the heart of Bario.
Renai’s mother eked out a living by making and selling salt at a wet market in the hamlet populated by farmers, while her father from Sabah was thousands of kilometres away, working as a mountain guide on Gunung Kinabalu.
Portraying the beauty of the interior of Sarawak as well as the scenic views of Gunung Kinabalu, the story revolves around how Renai appreciates and values the struggles and sacrifices made by her parents to ensure a brighter future for their daughter.
Petronas’ group strategic communications senior general manager Zahariah Abd Rahman said Renai promoted the importance of family values, as well as unity and harmony, which had long been enjoyed by people from all walks of life and backgrounds in the country.
Zahariah said Renai was a story of gratitude, and encapsulated the true spirit of the Kaamatan and Gawai festivals, which celebrate the fruits of hard labour and determination invested each year into delivering a bountiful harvest.
“For the past two decades, Petronas has been bringing Malaysians together through our festive communications.
“With our latest Kaamatan- and Gawai-themed web film, we hope to not only capture the rich and unique essence of the harvest festivals in Sabah and Sarawak, but what this festival means to all Malaysians,” she said when met at the media preview of the web film here recently.
Present were Petronas group strategic communications, head of brand management, Rizan Ismail and the film director, Philip Rom Kulle.
Also present were all actors of the web film, who are locals from Bario.
“Petronas draws inspiration from every Malaysian, as each of one of us has an interesting story to be told.
“The story of Renai reflects our nation’s diversity as a true melting pot of cultures, and the social cohesion among Malaysians,” Zahariah said in explaining the latest campaign by Petronas.
Zahariah also said she was proud that the storyline for Renai was originally the idea of a Petronas employee, which was later transformed into an inspiring web film by Philip.
Philip said the web film centred around the ultimate love involving the sacrifices made by a family for their children, and that the plot of the story was based on human interest.
“We do not want to do another story where it feels too touristy, where the media has always portrayed us (Sarawakians) in traditional costumes.
“And there are no indications of any celebrations in the film, where it ends with a greeting and that solely focuses on the moral of the story.”
Philip said although the Gawai celebration was specific to the Ibans and Bidayuhs in Sarawak, the web film featured a different tribe injecting a different perspective.
“It gives a different view of life in Sarawak, which comprises a diverse population.
“The message that we want to convey through this film is the joy and spirit of the Gawai celebration, which is also celebrated and embraced by people of different races in the state.
“And we believe the same applies to the Kaamatan festival in Sabah,” he said, adding that the team took about a week to complete filming in Bario and Gunung Kinabalu.
The three-minute, 47-second-long webfilm has been available for viewers starting from May 26 on Petronas’s official channel at www.petronasofficial.com.
A 60-second television commercial version of the web film started airing yesterday.
Apart from the web film, a series of exciting on-the-ground activities will be taking place during the Kaamatan and Gawai celebrations, where lucky winners of the “Hitz.fm Kaamatan and Gawai Experience with Petronas” contest will be given the opportunity to experience the harvest festivals in Sabah and Sarawak with three of their family members or friends.
“Petronas hopes the four-day, all-expenses-paid trip will provide winners with an unforgettable experience and an in-depth understanding of the
true meaning of the Kaamatan and Gawai festivals,” said Petronas group strategic communications in a statement.