KOTA KINABALU: Nur Liyana Razali, a 26-year-old Sabahan from Papar, turned heads when she stood out in a Borneo Murut Nabai ethnic dress to receive her Master’s Degree in Engineering (MEng) from the University of Manchester in the United Kingdom recently.

       The oldest of three siblings of Brunei-Murut descent became the talk of the town when a picture of her dressed in the traditional ethnic dress with a robe and mortarboard while receiving her MEng scroll on March 20 went viral on social media, especially among internet users from Sabah.

       Nur Liyana said she wore the motif-embellished indigenous outfit for the momentous occasion to showcase the traditions and culture of the Sabah community to foreign countries, and wanted it to be appreciated and remembered, more so by the younger generation.

       "Of course, I am elated to receive a Master's, but the memories are sweeter when I can showcase the culture of Sabah in a Borneo Murut Nabai ethnic dress from my mother's lineage," she told reporters here Sunday (March 27).

       Nur Liyana, who is currently working as a management trainee in Kuala Lumpur, also thanked the public, especially Sabahans, who gave her support and encouragement.

       Her father Razali Matali said Nur Liyana was supposed to graduate in 2020, but due to the Covid-19 pandemic, it had to be postponed.

       He managed to attend Nur Liyana’s convocation with his wife and two other children.

       "As a parent, I am very happy with Nur Liyana’s success and I thank the state government through the Sabah Foundation which gave her a scholarship," said the 51-year-old, who also made his own fashion statement at the convocation in a traditional Malay "cekak musang" shirt and a songkok. - Bernama