Joanna Kitingan
KOTA KINABALU: The State-level Unduk Ngadau Contest this year will be giving out a total of RM68,000 in cash prizes.
Sabah-level Unduk Ngadau Committee Organising chairperson Joanna Kitingan said that the first prize winner will win RM15,000, while the second and third winners will take home RM12,000 and RM10,000 respectively.
She also said that RM5,000 from the prizes for the top three winners will be withheld in trust by the UNK Committee until the top three winners handed over the costumes they wore during the contest. The costumes will be preserved and showcased at the Unduk Ngadau Gallery at the Hongkod Koisaan in Penampang.
The cash prize for the fourth place winner is RM5,000 followed by RM4,000 for the fifth winner, RM3,000 for the sixth winner and RM2,000 for the seventh winner.
The subsequent winners selected for the top 21 will receive a cash prize of RM1,000 each.
Joanna also said that the winner of the Best Design Ethic Motif gown stands to receive RM3,000. RM2,500 will go to the designer and RM500 for the model, said Joanna.
She also said that organizing the Unduk Ngadau during the pandemic has been challenging but noted that challenges can be overcome.
She explained that the technical details of organizing the event were particularly challenging.
Nevertheless, she said that there have always been challenges in running the competition, and they are not always like the previous years.
“But you just have to face (the challenges) head on. There is no problem that is without solution,” she said.
“We are blessed to be in the digital era and make use of technology to do the video and take photos to allow the judges to do the judging.”
Joanna added that the main aim of the Unduk Ngadau KDCA Woman Council is to preserve the Unduk Ngadau Heritage, to encourage the young to love their mother tongue.
“We are proud to see more of our young people learning their mother tongue. I am sure that their mothers have groomed their children to speak their mother tongue,” she said.
She also said that the Unduk Ngadau contest has evolved over the years. She noted that in the 1960s, the contest was akin to a beauty pageant.
However, over the years, the contest has evolved and every year, it is organized to search for the ‘Runduk Tadau’ which stands for the shining beauty or the morning beauty.
“It is like the rising sun which is very beautiful. The beauty of the Huminodun legend, who is the resurrected Pinozuvung, is also beautiful. So, that is how the competition became the Unduk Ngadau pageant.”
She also spoke of the pandemic and said that the reason strict SOP is imposed is to avoid the spread of Covid-19 during the pageant.
“We don’t want a cluster for Unduk Ngadau which is why we cut down the number of participants … but we hope to get back to normal situation and bring the 79 Unduk Ngadau to the Hongkod. It is a pity that they cannot all come,” she said of the future aspiration.