KUALA LUMPUR: Families continue to gather in their hometowns throughout Sarawak and Sabah, many of them making final preparations on Christmas Eve to ensure that they can enjoy the festivities on Thursday (Dec 25) in a comfortable and meaningful manner with their loved ones.
A large number of people had already travelled back earlier in the week, with many opting to do their last-minute Christmas shopping in the morning to avoid crowds.
In SARAWAK, housewife Jelumi Lakun, 21, who will celebrate Christmas with her newborn baby boy, was at the Kuching Sentral Bus Terminal with her brother-in-law waiting to head back to her longhouse in Kanowit for the festivities.
She admitted that her decision to return home was made at the last minute, after her mother requested that all her children return home for the occasion.
"I really can't wait to get back because I'm excited to be with everyone, as we seem not to have the opportunity to meet up together.
“I've finished my preparations and my brother-in-law will accompany me on the six-hour journey with my baby from Kuching to Sibu before we continue on to Kanowit. I'm sure that our trip will go smoothly as the Pan Borneo Highway has been completed," she said.
Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) final-year student, Larry Enteba Langgong, 23, a fellow Ibanese, expressed satisfaction that he managed to secure a bus ticket at the last minute to his longhouse in Kabo, Saratok, as he was eager to rejoin his family after being away for so long for his studies.
"After about three to four hours, I'll arrive in Saratok and spend another 46 minutes or so to get back to the longhouse," he said.
Meanwhile, in SABAH, teacher Chris Wee Kia Kee, 50, chose to do his last-minute Christmas shopping with his wife early at 10am on Wednesday.
Wee, who travelled from Melaka to celebrate Christmas with his wife in Penampang, shared that they had left home at 9.30am to ensure their shopping would go smoothly without a hitch.
"When we left, there weren't many cars, but now it's getting crowded. It's just an hour's difference, but there are lots of cars," he said when met at the Penampang International Technology & Commercial Centre (ITCC).
Fellow shopper, civil servant Rose Marie Rogellio, 45, shared that she would be celebrating Christmas in moderation, and would carry on their family's traditions of gathering together and spending time exchanging gifts and playing games. - Bernama
