The 10th Pesta Gambus Sabah 2009 was held last 26th July 2009 at the Papar Municipal Hall, Papar which organized by the Persatuan Masyarakat Brunei Sabah and this year I had the chance to come + see the Gambus competition.. yeayy!

‘Lute’ or verbally called by the locals as ‘Gambus’ is one of the oldest musical instruments in Sabah and been practically made + played by the Brunei community in Sabah.

Outside of the Papar Municipal Hall, there are local foods + products exhibitions.

Mostly the products are hand-made by the villagers nearby Papar district.

One of the Brunei’s favourite, Ambuyat a.k.a Sagu

They even got a mini concert, performances by the Kumpulan Gambus Madani from Bongawan, Sabah.

Aik! pun ada jual belon.

Backdrop for the main stage..

A typical costume for the Brunei community in Sabah.

The festival was launched by YB Datuk Masidi Manjun and he is representing the Chief Minister of Sabah, Datuk Seri Panglima Haji Musa bin Haji Aman that didn’t manage to come, also present was Datuk Karim Bujang, the President of the Association of Bruneian Community of Sabah, and Datuk Haji Abdul Rahim bin Ismail ADUN of N22, Pantai Manis as the Patron of Persatuan Masyarakat Brunei Sabah.

Momento presentation to YB Datuk Masidi Manjun.

Performances by the group from Kg. Warisan representing Kota Kinabalu district.


Group from Kg Binsuluk representing Membakut.



Group from Menumbok, representing Beaufort district.



Group from Kg. Weston, Kimanis representing the Bongawan district.



Actually I don’t really enjoyed the show as what I’ve first expected..

Poor stage lighting + not so stunning dance performace = boring!

Even the famous Fauziah Gambus forgot to bring her Gambus..

But I must say the performances by well known gambus musician Farid Ali + guitarist Roger Wang save the day.

I was stunning by the sounds of gambus vs acoustic guitar.

Prize ceremony.. hmm maybe I need an ‘Ultra Wide Lenses’ for this angle..

Consolation prize of RM1000. – Kg. Warisan from Kota Kinabalu and Kg. Weston of Kimanis
3rd place of RM2000 – Kg. Buang Sayang from Papar
2nd place of RM3000 – Menumbok
Champion of RM5000 – Kg. Binsuluk from Membakut
See more prize presentation ceremony photos here!
below are pics more like after party punya happening..




































Aku ndak pandai pun main gambus. hehe.. actually, pegang gambus pun ndak pernah!
Ya sia tau tuh.. tapi Sarawak Sape ko main kan?? ehemm! ehemm! kohfff! batuk pula sia…
i would love to hear the sound of gambus colliding with guitar plucking. you have any video on it?
Actualy i was not forgeting to bring my gambus at that time. My Gambus was in a bad condition and still under repair. Anyway, the Gambus Festival 2009 was AWESOME!!!
Sebenarnya nda jua ku lupa tentang gambus atu, tapi masa atu , gambus beulah pulang, rosak dan mesti di baiki.., apa-apa pun, pesta gambus 2009 tetap meriah….! Siuk jua kali a…! hehe…
Wow! Fauziah Gambus in the house.. it was an ‘honor’ to us for you being here. Wishing you all the best with your music and make Sabahan proud!
Wah! Fauziah Gambus ada disini rupanya.. Kami sangat ‘teruja’ (atau dlm Sabahannya.. kembang) kerana Fauziah ada di blog ni.. Kami doakan semoga sukses selalu dengan muzik anda dan bangga menjadi urang Sabah.
lembut lengokkan jari-jemari mu yg menari2 pada tali yg dipetik dan tersusun rapi kemas memetik tali2 gambus hinggakan terpegun melihat…dan alunan irama mu yg penuh asyik dan suara mu bagaikan buluh perindu…wajah mu yg manis berseri…dan setiap pergerakan langkah mu yg lembut sehinggakan terpukau melihat……..teruskan irama gambus mu