UMP Kencana Pawana Group won three MAKUM major awards

Universiti Malaysia Pahang (UMP) Kencana Pawana Group won three major awards during the Malaysia Universities Cultural Council Zapin Festival that was held at Sultan Salahudin Abdul Aziz Shah Cultural and Art Centre main hall, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), Serdang on December 2, 2018.

According to group leader, Mohamad Firdaus Ab Hadi, 21, they won the Best Makeup Award, Most Promising Group Award and Prime Award. They took home cash RM250 and a trophy for each of the awards.

Mohamad Firdaus, an undergraduate with Faculty of Industrial Sciences & Technology (FSTI) said they were all so excited and had not expected to win, let alone clinching three awards, as it was their first time competing in the highly competitive event.

“We chose to perform the Padang Sari Zapin and wore the Johor traditional costumes. There were 12 dancers and we were satisfied with our performance.

“This was the best present we could have ever had as we only have two weeks before the competition and we trained hard for it,” he added.

He also said they were grateful with the support given by everyone especially the trust given by the university in allowing them to participate and give their best award-winning performance.

UMP Vice-Chancellor, Professor Dato’ Sri Dr. Daing Nasir Ibrahim congratulated the group on their success and hoped that the win would inspire them to continue to make more successes.

“Although UMP is a university that focuses on technical and engineering courses, the university has always provided the opportunity and facility for its students to expand their interest in arts and culture,” he said.

MAKUM 2018 champion was UPM while Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) and Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) won second and third places, respectively.

Prizes were presented by UPM Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Student Affairs & Alumni), Professor Mohd Roslan Sulaiman.

MAKUM Festival is an annual event organised with the aim of producing a new generation of players that can further liven up and develop the arts and culture scene.