JAKARTA – The acting governor of Kepulauan Bangka Belitung (Babel) Dr. Safrizal ZA opened Babel Culture and Culinary Festival to commemorate the 23rd year of the province in Jakarta’s Kota Tua on Saturday night (16/12/23). Thousands of people swarmed to taste various typical dishes of Bangka Belitung.
“The festival aimed to encourage tourism, investment, and UMKM. All are expected to contribute to people’s income,” said Safrizal, the best IPDN graduation batch 1.
He said further that the older the province, the more independence in development and able to face the domestic economy and creative economy. It matched the theme of the anniversary: We are cool together, Amazing and Modern Babel.
“The provincial government of Babel, regional governments, Regional Leaders Communication Forum (Forkopimda), private sectors and stakeholders work together to develop the province and create new chances in various economic sectors. We must think out of the box, just like this festival. We organize it in the centre of the capital, not merely in the province,” said Safrizal in his remarks.
The festival presented a fashion show, dance, and local attractions. It was attended by the ambassador of Malaysia, members of provincial Forkopimda, regents and mayor, and representatives of the business sector. Besides cultural performance, visitors can also taste various typical dishes such as mie koba, pantiaw, lakso, otak-otak, pempek, Kong Djie coffee, calamansy ice and others.
Safrizal who was born in 1970 closed his remarks by reciting a pantun, Malay quatrain. “Dataran rendah beralur-alur. Banyak ditanami tanaman Kencur. Seni Budaya Warisan Leluhur. Jangan biarkan hilang dan hancur.”
