Sarawak’s pavilion was named Best State Pavilion at MAHA 2026 and took the show’s champion title, collecting RM15,000 and a certificate of appreciation on Saturday, 5 September at the exhibition park in Serdang, Selangor. The prize was handed over by the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu, and received by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Food Industry, Commodity and Regional Development Sarawak (M-FICORD), Datu Sirai Anak Daha, with pavilion officers and staff, the Sarawak government’s UKAS news service reported.

What the award actually carried

The state government’s account of the presentation sets out three things:

  • the title of Best State Pavilion, together with the champion title for MAHA 2026;
  • RM15,000 in cash and a certificate of appreciation;
  • a presentation at MAEPS on Saturday, 5 September, two days before the exhibition closed.

UKAS presented the result as recognition of the range of products, the innovation and the agro-industry potential Sarawak put on a national platform, and credited the work of state ministries, departments, agencies, entrepreneurs and industry players behind the stand. The announcement named no other placings and did not set out how the state pavilions were judged.

The exhibition Sarawak was judged inside

MAHA — the agriculture, horticulture and agrotourism exhibition Malaysia stages every second year — is held at the Malaysia Agro Exposition Park (MAEPS) in Serdang and run by the federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security. Announcing the dates in December 2025, Mohamad Sabu set the 2026 edition for 28 August to 6 September under the theme “Value Creation for Food Security”, with targets of:

  • four million visitors;
  • 2,000 exhibitors;
  • RM58 million in sales.

State pavilions were listed then as one of the show’s main segments, alongside local and international agricultural technology displays, laser and water shows and an agro safari. By opening day, Bernama reported companies from 14 countries in the International Pavilion, among them Brazil, Kenya, Uzbekistan, South Korea and Japan, with officials projecting RM8 billion in memoranda of understanding on top of the RM58 million sales figure. The Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority used the floor to push export lines including durian and its “Malaysia’s Best” mark, which gathers produce certified under the myGAP good agricultural practice standard.

The age gap the show is built to close

The show is pitched at a workforce problem. Announcing it, the minister cited Agriculture Census 2024 figures showing that about 45 per cent of agricultural workers are aged 60 and above, and only three per cent are between 15 and 30. Narrowing that generational gap by drawing younger people into the sector was set out as one of the exhibition’s aims.

The previous edition suggests the audience is there. MAHA 2024 drew 5.5 million visitors against a three-million target and produced RM48.5 million in direct sales, so this year’s RM58 million sales target sits above what the last show delivered while the visitor target sits well below what it attracted.

What Sri Aman’s delegation went to Serdang to find

Sarawak’s presence at MAHA was not only the pavilion. A delegation from the Sri Aman Development Agency (SADA) visited MAEPS on 29 and 30 August to look for innovations and working methods that could be adapted to local conditions. Its chairman, Dato Sri Rohani Abdul Karim, said the visit had to produce real follow-up action rather than stand as a formality, so that what the delegation saw could be turned into development on the ground in the division.

The delegation included SADA special administrative officer Alfred Geling, Sri Aman district officer Shariff Bujang, Pantu district officer Raca Mulong and Sri Aman Public Works Department divisional engineer Ts. Lenny Busuri, with representatives of the Ministry of Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Sarawak, the Land Custody and Development Authority and the SADA secretariat. Our coverage of the area is in the Sri Aman division guide.

What the farm figures look like underneath the trophy

The award lands on a sector that is growing faster in Sarawak than nationally. In its state gross domestic product release for 2025, the Department of Statistics Malaysia recorded agriculture growth of 4.3 per cent in Sarawak against 2.2 per cent for Malaysia as a whole, with agriculture the third-largest contributor to the national economy on a 6.1 per cent share. The same release put Sarawak’s natural gas subsector at 0.7 per cent growth for the year, down from 5.4 per cent in 2024.

Where the record disagrees

The dates do not match across the official material. M-FICORD’s own event listing gives MAHA 2026 as 26 August to 6 September, while the minister’s announcement and the state’s report of the award both start it on 28 August. All three give the same closing date, so the two-day difference is at the start of the run. Neither page explains it.

Sources