IPOH, The Perak government, in collaboration with the Information Department (JaPen), is offering prizes totalling RM36,000 for this year's Pertandingan Keceriaan Bulan Kebangsaan. Perak JaPen director Yosri Abu Mahsin said the decoration competition, which was open for registration from July 28 to Aug 10, covers six categories, namely individual, gateway, village and residential areas, primary school, secondary school and local authority. 'To date, we have received over 140 entries across these six categories, and registered participants are required to submit photos of their decorations to the secretariat before Aug 16," he told a press conference here today. Yosri said the final evaluation would take place from Aug 22 to 26 to determine winners in each category. He further said that the annual competition aims to foster patriotic spirit, deepen Malaysians' appreciation of independence and inspire creativity in showcasing the Jalur Gemilang across the state. In support of the 1 Rumah 1 Jalur Gemilang initiative, he noted that Perak JaPen has distributed 2,000 national flags in each district. Meanwhile, Yosri said that state government departments and agencies could obtain portraits of Their Majesties Sultan Ibrahim and Raja Zarith Sofiah, the King and Queen of Malaysia, at Perak JaPen starting this Wednesday. 'For now, the distribution is limited to government departments and agencies for the first print run, with more prints to follow,' he said. Source: BERNAMA News Agency