Over 10,000 oil lamps with 1,000 bamboo sticks were used at the Panjut (Oil Lamp) Festival 2021, a competition hosted by the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) of Bagan Serai on May 9.
Various creative designs of huge oil lamps were seen at the festival, namely mosques, houses, huts, trains and the Indonesian submarine, KRI Nanggala-402, which were also circulated and shared on social media by fellow Indonesians.
The UMNO Youth Chief of Bagan Serai, Nazirul Jamaluddin said the camaraderie formed among the residents was evident through the cooperation in the competition.
“With the ongoing fight against the COVID-19 and the enforcement of MCO 3.0, we hope this initiative brings cheers to the residents who are unable to cross districts or states to celebrate Hari Raya with their loved ones.
“Hence, we plan to make this programme an annual event, which will also be the latest icon of Bagan Serai every Ramadan,” he said after judging the competition on the night of May 9.
The theme this year is “kampung halamanku” (my hometown), “raya tetap raya” (Raya remains Raya) and “selamat hari raya” (Happy Eid).
Present at the festival was UMNO Head of Division of Bagan Serai, Datuk Sham Mat Sahat.
According to Nazirul, a total of 20 villages participated in the competition with the first prize worth RM5000; second, RM2000; third, RM1000 and fourth, RM500.
“The participants had the freedom to create anything they wished and each design required at least 300 lamps with the basic material or structure made of bamboo.
“We have also contributed RM500 to each participating village as a way to boost their spirits in creating their respective panjut. The results will be announced by the judges next week,” he said.
Nazirul, who is also the UMNO Youth Vice Chief of Perak, was impressed by the extraordinary creations of the participants and plans to hold the Perak Parliament-Level Panjut Festival competition in the coming year.
Rosli Mansor
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