The Ipoh Padang Panjut Festival is included in the tourism calendar for Visit Perak 2024

By Aida Aziz

IPOH: The panjut festival program that was organized for the first time at the iconic location of Padang Ipoh will be included in the tourism calendar in conjunction with the Visit Perak 2024.

The mayor of Ipoh, Datuk Rumaizi Baharin said, among other things, the program is to promote the tradition of panjut in this city to the public, which was previously more synonymous in Kuala Kangsar.

He said that for the beginning of this year it was only implemented at the Ipoh City Council (MBI) sector level, but he was optimistic that it would be extended to the public for the following year.

“Next year we will include it in the tourism calendar in conjunction with the Year of Visiting Perak.

“We chose Padang Ipoh because it is the center of the city. It is also part of the Ipoh tourism triangle.

“Indirectly, the program carried out here can attract more people, especially to break fast in the field and then take pictures near the panjut on display,” he said.

He said this at a press conference after officiating the MBI Inter-Sector Panjut Festival at Padang Ipoh, here last night.

Themed ‘Kampungku Halamanku’, he said more than 2,000 panjut were used for the festival, each involving 500 lights per sector.

Among the sectors involved are Services, Administration and Operations, Finance and Technical.

“The panjut here uses diesel oil, it is more easily available than kerosene. We will install this panjut after Maghrib until it goes out by itself.

“This program will last until April 24, so people can come in large numbers and see for themselves the uniqueness of the panjut installed in conjunction with the arrival of Syawal,” he added.

Meanwhile, for one of the visitors, Hidayah Ismail, 24, she did not miss the opportunity to see the panjut on display up close.

“It happened that I passed here after breaking fast with a friend, suddenly saw an interesting panjut here.

“It’s really exciting when you do a program like this in Ipoh because it’s usually synonymous with Kuala Kangsar, so it’s really exciting and I hope it continues for next year,” she said.

Adha Hakim Osman, 27, hopes that more parties will participate in the party next year.

“I found out about this program on social media, so I decided to come with my family and friends to break the fast here.

“It’s interesting and beautiful, the mood is lively with the presence of people who want to take memorable photos, there’s not always a party,” he said.