Sarawak names photo winners

KUCHING, 23 December 2021: Sarawak Tourism Board has announced the winners of its second edition Photography and Videography competition in collaboration with Sarawak Photo-Art Society (SPAS) and Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) with the theme “Hidden Gems of Sarawak”.

The photography competition was divided into four categories for students under 18 years old, enthusiasts and the open-Professionals group. The categories introduced are Nature’s Wonder, Going Green, Sarawak at Night and My Hometown or My City while the video categories introduced three new video categories – a documentary on Responsible Tourism for students, an open theme for professional videographers and a TikTok category. 

Bernice Lau Yee Ting, 8, from Sarikei was the overall champion for photography with her entry, a snapshot of the Hungry Ghost festival celebrated at the foot of Sibu Eng Ann Teng Tua Pek Kong Temple featuring the offerings of the devotees. Its overall composition, muted evening tones, and cultural festival theme combined make a winning entry.

For the Videography open category, Nazmi Bin Nasseruddin from Kuching won RM10,000 for his winning entry on showcasing the magnificence of Southern Sarawak’s hidden gems, highlighting trending Sarawak attractions such as the Paku Maze in Bau and Sarawak’s own version of Jurassic Park in Bengoh Dam, while Candy Frederick from Baram came second place (MYR6,000) and Chong Ee Vei from Miri, came third (MYR6,000).

Lead judge, Sylvester Jussem, senior lecturer from Faculty of Applied and Creative Arts UNIMAS said: “The photos were judged based on the originality of the idea, a story-telling piece that relates to form and feel. As usual, the composition is the key element we look for in each entry.”

“This time around in my opinion, I find the humanity of the moment in some of the entries taken during the challenging weather conditions depicting spirited characters and determination in their projects. I envy their skills and determination,” he added.   

Together with Sylvester, the judging panel comprised five hand-picked judges coming from diverse backgrounds, namely Dr Hakimi bin Halim, a lecturer from UNIMAS, Jenny Kam Moi Joon, President of Sarawak Photo-Art Society, Margaret Apau, STB director of communications and Dansley Rone, STB Graphic Designer. They reviewed 1,268 photos and 61 video entries featuring Sarawak’s hidden gems.

STB Chairman, Dennis Ngau extended his heartiest congratulations to all the winners of STB’s “Hidden Gems of Sarawak” Photography & Videography competition for their efforts, dedication and skills in documenting Sarawak.

“Just like Sarawak’s hidden gems, we need to cultivate our hidden talent, which is why we added a student category for this year. STB believes in tapping and developing our local talent for tomorrow, especially in the art of visual storytelling, and this competition provides a platform to discover and expose our state’s youth talent.

We were not disappointed by the turnout and the quality of the entries. In fact, we saw more and more young Sarawakians sharing their passion and creative point of view of Sarawak through photography and videography and have discovered new and amazing young talents in the art of storytelling.,” he added.

The competition was launched on 10^th November 2021 and ended on 15^th December 2022. All winning photographs will be updated for a digital exhibition at a later date.

The list of winners in the STB’s Photography and Videography 2022 competition categories are as follows:

Grand Prize Winner for Photography: Bernice Lau Yee Ting (RM 6,000)

Open – Professionals (Photography)

1^st Prize: Wong Siong Hang (RM 5,000)

2^nd Prize: Tho Sai Wai (RM 3,000)

3^rd Prize: Chew Chun Hian (RM 2,000)

Students (Photography):

Category 1 (My Hometown/My City)

1^st Prize: Megannath Jeganathan (RM 3,000)

2^nd Prize: Janice Lau Yee Ning (RM 2,000)

3^rd Prize: Abdul Rahim (RM 1,000)

Category 2 (Sarawak at Night)

1^st Prize: Jason Jia Hong Teo (RM 3,000)

2^nd Prize: Muhammad Farid Azmar (RM 2,000)

3^rd Prize: Vincent Vun (RM 1,000)

Category 3 (Nature’s Wonders) 

1^st Prize: Lee Le Yong (RM 3,000)

2^nd Prize: Eunice Ling Sing Wei (RM 2,000)

3^rd Prize: Nathaline Wailyn (RM 1,000)

Category 4 (Going Green) 

1^st Prize: Mahmudul Hasan (RM 3,000)

2^nd Prize: Ammar Nor Salehan (RM 2,000)

3^rd Prize: Cindy Chai (RM 1,000)

Open (Photography)

Category 1 (My Hometown/My City)

1^st Prize: Dennis Ngu Tai Gah (RM 3,000)

2^nd Prize: Sie Houng Ling (RM 2,000)

3^rd Prize: Choon Yee Lee (RM 1,000)

Category 2 (Sarawak at Night)

1^st Prize: Ho Kok Boon (RM 3,000)

2^nd Prize: Desmond Chien Yew Ngu (RM 2,000)

3^rd Prize: Isaac Liew (RM 1,000)

Category 3 (Nature’s Wonders) 

1^st Prize: Clarence Meechang (RM 3,000)

2^nd Prize: Mohamad Ikhwan Bin Mohamad Razali (RM 2,000)

3^rd Prize: Wilson Chiam Tak Chee (RM 1,000)

Category 4 (Going Green) 

1^st Prize: Ngo Hui Yen (RM 3,000)

2^nd Prize: Lim Kah Sen (RM 2,000)

3^rd Prize: Lee Pei Tze (RM 1,000)

Students (Videography)

1^st Prize: Lee Le Yong (RM 5,000)

2^nd Prize: Phang Jing Xian (RM 3,000)

3^rd Prize: Jason Jia Hong Teo (RM 2,000)

Open (Videography)

1^st Prize: Nazmi Bin Nasseruddin (RM 5,000)

2^nd Prize: Candy Frederick (RM 3,000)

3^rd Prize: Chong Ee Vei (RM 2,000)

For more information, visit www.sarawaktourism.com. 

(Your Stories: Sarawak Tourism Board)