World Rain Forest Music Festival opens in Sarawak

"Music has brought us together. Music has no borders," said Dato Sri Wong Soon Koh, Sarawak's Minister of Urban Development and Tourism at the opening ceremony in Kuching, the capital of the East Malaysia state.

"In this globalised world we must all come together, while individually we must all remain different," said the minister, adding that he wanted to see in the world was "unity in diversity, diversity in unity." 

The minister said terms such as "western influence" and "western values" were broad categorisations. "Asian values" was also a vague  term. "In Asia, what we have is Malaysian values, Indian values, Indonesian characteristics and Filippino traits," he said.

In coming together and seeking similarities, the minister emphasised that "people were different in particular ways. "In this globalised world we must come together, but individually we can remain different."

As far as the three-day festival was concerned, it rated one of the top 50 events in the Malaysian Tourist promotion programme in 2007, he added.

There is certainly diversity at the 10th Rain Forest Music Festival, taking place at the foot of Mount Santubong in the idyllic Sarawak Cultural Village, just metres from the South China Sea.

Music troupes performing here come from countries as far apart as Afghanistan and Peru, Poland and Lebanon, Scotland and Zimbabwe, Madagascar and Russia.

Canada's multi-instrumentalist Randy Raine-Reusch, who helped chart the path of the World Rain Forest Festival in its early years, is also here, performing and attending musical workshops.

"It's great to be back in this wonderful country," said Raine-Reusch, who is set to perform solo and give concerts with two local percussionists.

Spicing up the festival music-wise will be Fady, a four-member group from Lebanon, which has already made its presence felt in the 17-acre cultural village. The group's upbeat tempo music is heavily influenced by its Middle East roots.

Led by Hanitra Rasoanaivo, Madagascar's Tarika Be band was busily involved Friday afternoon in a musical workshop dedicated to lutes and guitars.

The accomplished Tarika Be has gained an international reputation promoting their nation's culture, and was voted one of the top 10 acts in the world by Time Magazine in 2001.

Hajl Mohd Tuah Jais, chairman of the festival's organising committee, told guests at Thursday evening's launch in Kuching: "We are proud to present to you the best of the groups who have previously performed in the past nine festivals and we are indeed excited over the reunion.

"It is the event looked forward to by everyone, from performers, diehard fans and audiences," he said. "May this return bring us back closer in our effort to create peace and harmony; our small contribution to the world and mankind."//Deutsche Presse Agentur (DPA)