More than one thousand durians were distributed to the public during Bank Rakyat Satok branch’s ‘Jom Makan Durian’ festival yesterday.
More than 1,000 durian lovers thronged the car park as early as 9am to take part in the durian ‘buffet’.
“This annual event is to show our appreciation for our clients and also a way for us (bank) to engage with the public,” Bank Rakyat regional manager Azman Aziz said.
He said that similar events were also held in Kota Padawan on Nov 31 and Bintulu on Dec 2.
Adding a twist to this year’s event was the durian eating competition for the media fraternity as well as the public.
Chung Joon Yew from the International Times who managed to eat 27 durian seeds in 15 minutes won the competition, followed by Sariee Jimi from RTM with 24 seeds and in third place was Zulazhar Sheblee from The Star with 21 seeds.
“To make this competition more challenging, none of the competitors are allowed to drink any water,” Azman who also took part in the competition together with Bank Rakyat Kota Padawan branch manager Sharvina Sarbini added.
Besides durians, 500 rambutans and 500 pulasan fruits were also on the ‘buffet’ line.
Meanwhile on a sad note, Azman announced that he will be relinquishing his post as the regional manager for the state by the end of this year.
He will be reporting for duty as the vice-president for Bank Rakyat in Wilayah 4 which covers Melaka and Johor Bahru on Jan 2 next year.
He expressed his gratitude to his staff and clients who have made his stay in the state a fruitful venture.
Among those present during the event was Datuk Bandar of Kuching North City Commission (DBKU) Datuk Abang Wahap Abang Julai and Ministry of Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism (KPDNKK) state director Wan Ahmad Uzir Wan Sulaiman.
Source: Borneo Post