KUCHING – 1,225 participants gathered at the Kuching Waterfront on May 23 for the Borneo Island International Big Bike Festival (BIBBF) 2026, establishing it as the largest high-powered motorcycle gathering in the Borneo region.
The 24th edition of the event serves as a primary intersection of regional tourism and infrastructure validation, bringing together riders from across the island to highlight the increasing accessibility of Borneo’s cross-border routes.
Borneo Island Big Bikers (BIBB) Sarawak president Rambli Tuah confirmed that the festival attracted a diverse international contingent, with the most significant participation originating from Indonesia and Brunei.
Regional Participation and Logistics
The scale of the 2026 festival is reflected in the breakdown of its participants:
- Indonesia: Approximately 400 riders
- Brunei: More than 300 riders
- Sabah: 200 riders
- Federal Territories: 120 riders
- Sarawak: Remaining participants
Organisers noted that the majority of machines were high-capacity touring and cruiser motorcycles, many of which had travelled overland across state and national borders under existing ASEAN cross-border movement arrangements for private vehicles.
On the second day of the three-day event, approximately 600 motorcycles took part in a convoy fun ride to Kampung Lot Bako, coordinated with traffic police escorts and local authorities to minimise disruption along key arterial roads.
“The highest participation came from Indonesia with almost 400 riders, followed by more than 300 participants from Brunei, Sabah with 200 participants, the Federal Territories with 120 participants, while the rest are from Sarawak,” Tuah told reporters during the flag-off ceremony.
Infrastructure Evolution and History
The festival originated in 1998 under the designation ‘Pan Borneo Ride’ before it was officially rebranded as the Borneo Island International Big Bike Festival in 2000.
Tuah noted that the early years of the event were marked by significant logistical hurdles, specifically regarding the poor condition of roads for riders traveling from Indonesia, Brunei, and Sabah.
According to Tuah, recent government initiatives to enhance road connectivity between Sabah and Sarawak have fundamentally altered the riding experience.
“However, with the government’s efforts in improving road connectivity from Sabah to Sarawak, many participants have praised the road conditions in Sarawak as being better and more comfortable for bikers,” he said.
Riders and organisers point in particular to upgrades associated with Malaysia’s Pan Borneo Highway programme, which is intended to standardise and modernise trunk roads across Sabah and Sarawak and is a central pillar of federal and state connectivity policy in East Malaysia.
Economic Impact and Community Engagement
Beyond the motorcycle convoys, the festival integrated cultural and community-focused programming. This included a ‘Battle of the Band’ competition held in coordination with the Sarawak Arts Council, traditional games, and entertainment performances.
The event also extended into local community outreach through a dedicated program with the residents of Kampung Bako Lot, blending tourism activity with village-level engagement and small-scale economic opportunities.
The festival’s economic footprint extended to Sarawak’s hospitality, food, and small business sectors, with hotels and homestays near the Kuching Waterfront reporting strong occupancy over the festival weekend. Support for the event was provided by the Kuching North City Commission (DBKU), Petronas, and the Ministry of Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Sarawak, aligning the gathering with state-level tourism promotion objectives and broader creative industry strategies under the national tourism policy framework.
The festival will conclude with a gala dinner for more than 1,200 participants, officiated by Kuching North Datuk Bandar Datuk Hilmy Othman, underscoring the city’s formal backing for large-scale tourism and lifestyle events.
Rotational Governance and Future Schedule
The BIBBF is managed on a rotational basis by five primary motorcycle clubs across the region, an informal governance structure that allows hosting responsibilities and economic benefits to circulate among Borneo’s main motorcycling hubs:
- BIBB (Sarawak)
- PEMODA (Brunei)
- IMBI (Indonesia)
- SBBA (Sabah)
- LA Riders (Labuan)
The hosting duties for the coming years are scheduled as follows:
- 2027: Labuan
- 2028: Brunei Darussalam
- 2029: Sabah
- 2030: Balikpapan, Indonesia
- 2031: Sarawak
The 2027 edition of the festival will be hosted in Labuan. Organisers say the forward schedule is designed to give host jurisdictions time to align event planning with their tourism calendars, infrastructure readiness and cross-border coordination with immigration, customs and transport agencies.