Bidayuh web portal to hold gathering-cum-family day

Bidayuh web portal to hold gathering-cum-family day

MIRI: A web portal, www.bidayuh.info (bidayuh.info), set up by members of the Bidayuh community, will be holding its sixth annual gathering and family day on Dec 27 and 28 in conjunction with the coming Christmas holidays.The two-day event will take place at Rayan Deer Farm-Stay in Kampung Segong, Singgai, Bau near Kuching.

According to bidayuh.info chairman James Douglas, among programmes planned for the event are barbecue, fun games, ice-breaking session, selling of bidayuh.info merchandises, photography by professional photographers, karaoke and lucky draws.

The participants will also be brought to tour the Rayan Deer Farm-Stay where they will go jungle trekking and also get to feed the deer.

“A professional tattoo artist will also be on hand to provide temporary and permanent tattoo services to interested participants,” said James yesterday.

He said participation fee is RM35 per adult and RM10 per child aged between 6 and 12 years old while children under six years old can join for free.

The fee will include free flow of cordial drinks, a buffet dinner and a barbecue session.

“For those who wish to spend the night, accommodation is also available but at first-come-first-serve basis as there are only 35 beds available,” he said, adding that Rayan Deer Farm-Stay is an eco-tourism resort owned by a fellow Bidayuh, William Jinep, and is located about 30 minutes’ drive from Batu Kawah MJC.

For reservation, those interested can contact James at 013-8084656(West Malaysia); Clarence James (016-8507048-Kuching), Ritchie Cosmas (014-6999221-Kuching) and Christopher Andrew (016-8648871- Miri).

Elaborating on bidayuh.info, James said it was founded and developed by a fellow Bidayuh, Clarence James, who was at the time based in Japan. With assistance from friends Christopher Andrew, Ritchie Cosmas, Dougal Miting and a few more internet-addicted Bidayuhs who were, prior to this, could only communicate with each other online through internet relay chat (IRC) and other free internet forum.

www.bidayuh.info was launched into cyberspace on April 21, 2004.

Bidayuh.info currently has 900 registered members and the number is increasing with membership from overseas locations such as USA, France, Australia, New Zealand, Korea, Japan and United Arab Emirates, apart from Malaysia.

“Our objectives are to gather all online Bidayuhs around the globe to communicate, share ideas, establish business networking and also re-tracking relatives, friends and even loved ones,” he said.

Currently, the members of bidayuh.info comprise not only Bidayuhs but also other communities such as Malay, Chinese, Kayan, Iban, Melanau and those from West Malaysia.

“In other words, we are supporting our Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s 1Malaysia concept by making our online portal accessible to all.

“This is made possible because we do not use Bidayuh language as our main mode of communication, but English and Bahasa Melayu.

“But we do have sub-forums for members who wish to use their own dialects,” he said further.

Meanwhile, members of the public who wish to know more about bidayuh.info and its upcoming event can log onto http://www.bidayuh.info.

Source from borneopost online post on 30th November 2009