BIGGER DRAGON BOAT FESTIVAL IN PUTRAJAYA THIS YEAR

PUTRAJAYA, May 18 (Bernama) -- The 2nd 1Malaysia International Dragon Boat
Festival 2010 (1MIDBF 2010), to be held here from June 18 to 20, promises to be
an even bigger event in terms of participation and spectator interest,
Herman Chin, its organising chairman, said Tuesday.

Chin, who is also the managing director of Mega Events Sdn Bhd, which runs
1MIDBF 2010, said about 1,300 participants from Malaysia, Australia, Canada,
China, Japan, Hong Kong, Indonesia, the Philippines and Singapore were expected
to take part.

Speaking after the launch by Federal Territories and Urban Well-Being
Minister Raja Nong Chik Datuk Raja Zainal Abidin, Chin said the event was
aimed at putting Putrajaya on the world map as the home of international dragon
boat racing.

Actress Sarimah Ibrahim has been appointed 1MIDBF 2010 ambassador while
celebrity chef Anis Nabillah and Miss Malaysia Tourism International Queen 2010
Cassandra Patrick have also been roped in to promote the event.

Once held on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month of the Chinese calendar,
(usually June in the Gregorian calendar), the dragon boat racing event had
now become a global phenomenon, said Chin.

The sport and festival are among the fastest growing team water sports in
more than 60 countries.

-- BERNAMA