KUCHING: It is a meaningful Gawai Dayak festival this year as Sarawakians are able to celebrate it again after coming through the last two years of the Covid-19 pandemic.

       Sarawak Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah said there was an overwhelming sense of relief now that the standard operating procedures (SOPs) had been relaxed, with festive open houses and visiting allowed.

       "As the chairman of the state disaster management committee, I know how tough it was during the movement control order (MCO) in the last two years.

       "There was a lot of frustration, disappointment, lost jobs and business opportunities, but the people of Sarawak are cooperative, resilient and prepared to sacrifice.

       "This is the spirit we want to maintain as we move forward in the transition towards endemicity," he said when met at a Gawai open house jointly hosted by himself and other Dayak ministers and deputy ministers from Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) here on Wednesday (June 1).

       Gawai, which falls on June 1 and 2, is the harvest festival celebrated by Sarawak's Dayak communities.

       However, Uggah said it was important to remain cautious as Covid-19 was still around.

       "If all of us do our part as we have done in the past, I'm sure we can go through this and continue our lives normally," he said.

       Uggah also said Gawai was a significant occasion which reflected Sarawak's unity and cooperation.

       "Sarawakians support each other during celebrations, when the Chinese, the Malay and people from all religions and cultures converge at an open house.

       "They don't come to eat but to cement our unity among each other so that we know each other's cultures.

       "Through this mutual understanding, we will be able to live together more peacefully and be more united," he said.