SMK Medamit participants pose with their prizes at the festival.
LIMBANG: SMK Medamit here won the Sabah Chief Minister’s Award for the ninth Tugu Budaya Etnik Sabah in Penampang last Saturday.
The rural school received RM13,000 and a trophy.
SMK Medamit also won the best overall visuals, best music arrangement, best choreography, and best creative traditional dance awards.
SK Tuarid Taud, Keningau topped the primary school category to win RM10,000 and a trophy at the prestigious festival.
The school also won four other categories, including best Sabah traditional dance.
SMK Sungai Damit, Tuaran won the Sabah Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment Award to claim RM10,000 and a trophy.
SK Sungai Damit, Tuaran and SMK Tawau received RM6,000 and RM7,000 along with a trophy each for topping the primary and secondary school categories of the Sabah State Cultural Board Award.
Some 900 participants from 29 schools nationwide took part in the festival.
International teams also joined for the first time – Raduga Russia, Sanggar Tari Bali Legong from Indonesia; Tarlac National High School, Philippines; Zamin, Uzbekistan; and Ranranga Dance Academy, Sri Lanka.
Sabah Deputy Chief Minister and Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment Christina Liew officiated at the prize presentation ceremony.
Tugu Budaya Etnik Sabah is an integral component of the Sabah International Folklore Festival (SIFF).