SARAWAK’S Rainforest World Music Festival (RWMF) is set to make a comeback via a ‘live’ performance, said the state tourism, creative industry and performing arts minister.

Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said he is optimistic that the festival will be held despite the increase in Covid-19 cases in the state.

“I am (optimistic). As it is, I am,” he said.

Though cases are increasing, “people should not be afraid as there are only mild cases (in Sarawak)”, he added.

The festival organiser, Sarawak Tourism Board (STB), has been told to form an organising committee and start working on the event, he said.

The STB website states that the RWMF – an annual three-day music festival that features musicians from all over the world at the foothills of Mount Santubong – will be held from June 17 to 19.

The festival was cancelled in 2020, following the first three confirmed Covid-19 cases in Sarawak and a ban on public gatherings of more than 250 people by the state Disaster Management Committee.

It was held virtually last year, with more than 56,000 viewers watching on opening night on the RWMF website, Shopee Live, as well as the RWMF and TV Sarawak Facebook pages.

STB said viewers joined from 78 countries, mostly from Malaysia, Singapore and the United Kingdom.

Last year’s virtual fest featured “a retrospective of past RWMF performances” and new pre-recorded sessions of home-grown musicians, of which one is award-winning Alena Murang.

During the event, craft and cultural displays, food stalls and music workshops are conducted in the day, with the concert in the evening. – February 10, 2022.