DUNGUN: Efforts to reignite interest in heritage games among the younger generation in Terengganu saw more than 300 youths participating in a state-level traditional games competition.
Organised by the Terengganu State Museum Board at the Muzium Permainan Rakyat, the event attracted 384 youths from across the state.
Dungun District Museum senior assistant director Noraini Shamsuddin said the competition was aimed at keeping traditional games alive while exposing the younger generation to cultural heritage inherited from earlier communities.
“Traditional games are more than recreational activities as they also strengthen social ties, nurture teamwork and instil cultural values and identity among the younger generation,” she said.
She added that various programmes had been planned to further revitalise heritage games as part of long-term efforts to preserve Malay cultural traditions.
The competition featured various games including bola tin, bola beracun, sepak raga ratus, selambut, congkak, rampai tradisi, dam aji and tug of war.
Participant Nur Muhammad Anuar, 29, said he was deeply interested in cultural heritage and wanted to ensure the games continued to be recognised by the community.
The event, he added, served as an ideal platform to introduce traditional games to the younger generation.
“I hope efforts to elevate traditional games will continue to be strengthened through community activities so that this heritage will not disappear amid the tide of modernisation,” he said, Bernama reported.
Muhammad Ammar Syahmi, 23, said the event helped showcase rarely seen games to the public and was a good way of preserving the community’s cultural heritage for future generations.
“Most teenagers today no longer play these games because they are unfamiliar with them, as they are no longer popular,” he lamented.
Another participant, Qistina Ayuni Zulkipli, 23, from Hulu Terengganu, said such games are gradually dying off due to limited exposure among the youth, unlike previous generations who grew up with such activities as part of daily life.
“Today’s children are increasingly drawn to gadgets and virtual gaming applications.
“Traditional games should continue to be preserved because they strengthen social relationships, nurture teamwork and help instil cultural values and identity.”
