KUCHING: The tradition of "bertuntung", or decorating houses using oil lamps ahead of the Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebration, is still practised by the Malay community in Sarawak until today.

       A check by Bernama in Kampung Nombor, here, found that oil lamps are still the choice, with almost all houses in the area choosing to display a combination of both oil lamps and electricity.

       Even more interesting, there are also houses featuring various structures, such as gates, adorned with lights at the entrance of their homes.

       For Zulaikha Ramzi, 35, despite the modernisation which offers a variety of more attractive and colourful electric lights, she opted for oil lamps as they have their own uniqueness.

       She said that she spent about RM1,000 to buy various types of lamps, including oil lamps, to decorate the family residence, completed with a photo booth.

       "This is our family's tradition for years and years, and we are putting up these lights 10 days before the Aidilfitri celebration until Aidiladha later.

       "Although the cost of electricity is high, for example, last year we incurred about RM800 for the electricity bill compared with the usual RM300, this is a family tradition that we need to continue," she said when met by Bernama.

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       Meanwhile, the Kampung Nombor Friendly Neighbourhood Area (KJM) chairman, Sahari Bordi, 53, said that this year a total of 17 houses participated in the "bertuntung" competition in the Satok state constituency.

       He said that the competition, held in collaboration with Kuching North City Hall (DBKU), offered prizes worth RM300 to RM500 for the winners. - Bernama