CLOSING CEREMONY FOR SHOWCASE MALAYSIA
AT RESORTS WORLD GENTING
 

Genting Highlands, 31 October 2010 – The annual Showcase Malaysia and Malaysia Handicraft Exhibition 2010, which was held at the First World Plaza, Genting Highlands Resort for the past 11 days, was officially closed today. The closing ceremony was graced by Her Royal Highness, The Crown Princess of Pahang, Tunku Hajjah Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah Binti Almarhum Sultan Iskandar Al-Haj.

Also present at the Closing Ceremony were Y.B. Dato’ Haji Shafik Fauzan Bin Sharif – Pahang State Minister of Tourism, Arts & Heritage, Family Development and Women’s Affairs, Y.B. Encik Norolazali Bin Sulaiman – ADUN Guai, Pahang, YBhg Dato’ Mohammed Bin Mohd Daud – Deputy Secretary General of Culture of Ministry of Information, Communication and Culture, Mr. Kevin Sim – Executive Vice President of Genting Malaysia Berhad, Dato’ Anthony Yeo – Senior Vice President of PR & Communications Genting Malaysia Berhad and Mr. Ng Kheng Leong – Senior Vice President of Promotions & Entertainment and Theme Park Genting Malaysia Berhad.

Showcase Malaysia featured the award-winning performances of Team Malaysia 2010 at the 14th World Championship of Performing Arts (WCOPA) held in Los Angeles, USA recently, while the Malaysia Handicraft Exhibition assembled some of the best Malaysian handicrafts from the different states in the country. The closing ceremony also saw a popular Gamelan performance from Pahang organized by Jabatan Kebudayaan dan Kesenian Negeri Pahang. The event was simultaneously hosted and organized by Resorts World Genting in collaboration with the Ministry of Information, Communication and Culture.

Kevin Sim said in his welcome speech, “By playing host to these events, we sincerely believe we are able to promote Malaysia’s culture and handicrafts to all our visitors and guests, both local and foreign, at Resorts World Genting. At the same time we also aim to provide a platform for young budding Malaysian artists to showcase their talents, especially in the area of performing arts which is in line with our CSR initiative on cultural promotion here at the Resort.”

This year’s Showcase Malaysia, which was held from 21 – 31 October, featured a brand new batch of award-winning performers from the 14th World Championship of Performing Arts (WCOPA). Vocalist line-up included Iz and Cheryl Koh together with Iqwal who was the gold medalist of the 12th WCOPA. Besides the vocalists, dancers from Akademi Seni Budaya & Warisan Kebangsaan (ASWARA) and musicians from Rhythm of Borneo and Timba Trio (who were also the award winners of the recent competition) joined hands to give a spectacular and entertaining one-hour performance during the scheduled show at the Resort.

The 14th edition of the World Championship of Performing Arts (WCOPA) saw participation from more than 40 countries worldwide. Team Malaysia comprising a total of 13 members had done the country proud by winning 18 gold medals, 17 silver medals, 6 bronze medals and 16 World Grand Champion titles.

Meanwhile, Kraftangan Malaysia exhibited the best of Malaysian handicrafts from different states in the country at the Malaysia Handicraft Exhibition. Rattan, bracelets, ceramic pendants, vases, souvenirs, batik and many more were up for sale during the exhibition. One of the main attractions of the exhibition was the famous Royal Pahang Weave or popularly known as “Tenun Pahang DiRaja”. Visitors were also able to witness the traditional “mesin kek”, the special machine used to weave the cloth, alongside the personal art collections of Her Royal Highness The Crown Princess of Pahang, Tunku Hajjah Azizah Aminah.

Other participants/exhibitors at the exhibition included artistes from the National Art Gallery who showcased Batik paintings, watercolor paintings, caricature drawings and more. ‘Live’ daily demonstrations of Tenun weaving, rattan weaving, batik painting and many more were also scheduled all day long during the exhibition period from 21 until 31 October 2010 at First World Plaza.

Her Royal Highness The Crown Princess of Pahang, Tunku Hajjah Azizah also presented tokens of appreciation to all event partners, namely the Ministry of Information, Communication & Culture, Pahang State EXCO of Tourism, Istana Budaya, Perbadanan Kemajuan Kraftangan Malaysia and Jabatan Kebudayaan dan Kesenian Negara.