Sungai Kut Muara Kaul Festival Preserves Melanau Heritage, Strengthens Community Unity
DALAT: The Sungai Kut Muara Kaul Festival continues to serve as an important platform for preserving the cultural heritage of the Melanau community while strengthening social bonds and unity among local residents.
Minister for Women, Early Childhood and Community Wellbeing Development and Dalat Assemblywoman, Dato Sri Fatimah Abdullah, said the tradition, which has been passed down through generations, must continue to be preserved so that younger generations can understand, appreciate and carry forward the cultural identity of the Melanau community.
She said this when officiating at the 2026 Sungai Kut Muara Kaul Festival held at the Kampung Sungai Kut Muara Futsal Court on Tuesday.
According to her, Kaul is a traditional ceremony that symbolises gratitude and serves as a ritual cleansing from misfortune, based on the beliefs of the Melanau community in earlier times.
She said the practice of 'Memulik Lo Tou Lo Amou', as well as the 'Serareng' and 'Rhabong' processions, which carry various offerings to the 'Tugik', are among the authentic Melanau traditions that continue to be preserved to this day.
She added that the organisation of the Kaul Festival not only plays a role in safeguarding cultural heritage but also serves as an important medium for introducing the history, customs and values of the Melanau community to younger generations.
During the same event, Dato Sri Fatimah also presented the 2026 Phase 2 Dalat Constituency Minor Rural Project (MRP) allocation amounting to RM693,000 to support various community development and educational programmes in the area.
Of the total amount, RM585,000 was allocated for Village Development and Security Committee (JKKK) programmes, RM77,000 for community projects including the organisation of the Kaul Festival and repair works for places of worship, while RM31,000 was channelled to the education sector.
She expressed hope that the Kaul Festival would continue to be preserved as a cultural treasure of the Melanau community, while the allocations provided would be fully utilised to enhance the wellbeing of the people and support the development of the area.
Also present were Dalat District Officer’s representative Nurul Khairul Nisa and Kampung Sungai Kut Muara Community Leader Muklis. -UKASnews
