Art of tattooing can be Miri tourism product, says deputy minister

MIRI (July 27): The art of tattooing can be turned into a tourism product in Miri, said Deputy Minister of Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Datuk Sebastian Ting.

He said Miri city is rich in tradition, including the art of tattooing.

“Miri city is actively developing its economy and tourism sector. Its strategic location between Sabah and Kuching makes Miri an ideal location,” he said in his address at the Miri International Tattoo Festival.

His text-of-speech was read by Miri Mayor Adam Yii, who represented him to officiate the event.

“I was made to understand that last year, there were 120 tattoo artists involved in this same event which was held at Coco Cabana, but this year it was scaled down to 78 artists only due to a change in venue and space constraints.

“However, of the 78 tattoo artists, 48 per cent are international and come from Australia, China, Germany, the Netherlands, India, Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.

“It looks like the organiser accepted my challenge last year to upgrade this festival to an international level. Congratulations!” he said.

Ting also noted many more tattoo artists wished to join the event but had to be turned down by the organiser due to limited space.

“This is actually very encouraging and I hope the organiser can find a bigger venue in the future with allocation given through my ministry,” he added.

The Miri International Tattoo Festival is organised by the Persatuan Pengukir Seni Tradisional Kenarau Miri.

The event also featured various side events such as tattoo artworks, visual art exhibition, bodybuilding show, traditional dances and more, all of which aim to revive the spirit of artistic diversity and creativity in a friendly and meaningful environment.

“Hopefully through this event, we can all appreciate the beauty of tattoo art and appreciate the contributions of artists from all over the world.

“I also hope that the organisers can organise a tattoo festival like this next year by inviting even more tattoo artists from home and abroad,” he said.

Also present were the event’s organising chairman Sylvester Juli, Gabungan Orang Asal Sarawak/Sabah (GOASS) founder Peter John and Dayak Association Miri chairman Penghulu Wilfred Mac.