Baram Regatta set to return to Marudi this July 23

MIRI (March 11): The long-awaited Baram Regatta will return to Marudi this July 23 after the organising committee gave the historic event the green light during a meeting at the Marudi District Council on Monday.

Organising committee chairman Datuk Dr Penguang Manggil, who is also State Deputy Minister of Public Health, Housing and Local Government, announced the decision on his Facebook page.

“The new date for the Baram Regatta has been fixed on July 23-26, 2026,” he said.

The regatta was originally scheduled to take place from Sept 18 to 21 last year, but was postponed following severe flooding in the Miri division.

Penguang cited the safety of participants and visitors as the paramount concern, particularly with powerboat and longboat races at risk under the dangerous river conditions.

Continuous heavy rain caused the Baram River to overflow, inundating longhouses in Apoh and Tinjar as well as the Marudi bazaar.

This year’s edition will mark the 126th instalment of the biennial event, widely regarded as the ‘mother of all regattas’ in Sarawak and a symbol of the end of tribal warfare in the Baram basin more than a century ago.

First held on April 9, 1899, the Baram Regatta has since evolved into both a sporting spectacle and a cultural celebration of peace among the diverse tribes of the Baram region.

Also present at the meeting were Limbang Resident Galong Luang, Marudi District Officer Rose Edward Tarang, Beluru District Officer Charles Aloysius Lisu, Telang Usan District Officer Ezra Uda, and Marudi District Council chairman Cr Edward Mendai.