KUANTAN: The traditional games and folk sports held in conjunction with the Pahang Keluarga Malaysia Aspirations Tour (AKM) at the Sultan Ahmad Shah International Convention Centre (SASICC), here, drew a lot of visitors of various ages.
Pahang Youth and Sports Department deputy director, Shafrul Kadir said the visitors made a beeline to try the games such as ‘batu seremban’ (five stones), congkak (mental calculation game played on a wooden boat-shaped block), haji checkers, carrom, snakes and ladders, darts, ‘teng-teng’ (hopscotch) and ‘baling slipper’ (traditional slipper game).
He said most of the visitors came with their families and each would try the games that caught their attention.
“Among the main attractions are darts, carrom and checkers. Some children prefer to try the slipper game as they rarely get the chance to play it,“ he said when met by Bernama here today.
Retiree Mohamad Zainal, 72, who came with his children and grandchildren to the event also did not miss the opportunity to try the snakes and ladders game.
“My children brought me here and as we were passing by, I couldn’t help trying some of the games as it has been quite a while since I last played them,” said Mohamad Zainal who lives in Sungai Isap Damai, here.
Teacher Halimah Embong 55, was challenged by daughter, Norkhaleda Abd Rahman, 28 to a game of congkak.
“This takes me down memory lane and it is my first stop as my daughter wants to play congkak with me,” she said.
Syahmi Shalihin, 12, who helped his father run a business at the AKM tour event also tried the carrom game with his three younger siblings, Syahzani, 10, Syarafuddin, 7, and four-year-old Syahiddan.
“It’s fun to be able to play carrom with my younger siblings. Maybe after this, I will ask my father to buy it for us,“ he said.
The AKM Pahang tour event held since Friday at two locations, namely, SASICC and Darul Makmur Stadium, will draw its curtain today with a record attendance of 77,775 visitors as of yesterday. - Bernama