Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak tonight witnessed the Tua Pek Kong (TPK) festival's street procession at Temple Street in Sibu.

He also spent a few minutes at the Tua Pek Kong Temple, which is also known as Sibu Eng Ann Teng Tua Pek Kong Temple. Also present were federal and state ministers.

Thousands swarmed the Temple Street starting 6pm to witness the procession as its way through Sibu town.

A total of 120 teams with 6,000 participants from Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Indonesia participated in procession which had floats, lion and dragon dances besides Chinese cultural performances.

The Tua Pek Kong Temple, located on the banks of the Rajang River, is an icon of Sibu town with its seven-storey pagoda.

The temple was only a small wooden Chinese temple in Sibu in the early 1870s and was rebuilt into a typical Chinese temple designed with tiled roof, stone block floor and decorative purlin fixtures, which were imported from China in 1897.

In 1987, it was replaced by a 7-storey Pagoda for the worship of the Goddess of Mercy.

Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin will be attending a banquet tomorrow night in conjunction with the festival. 

- Bernama