Karnival Sayangi Selangor expected to draw half a million people

SHAH ALAM: Some 500,000 people are expected to throng the Karnival Sayangi Selangor over the next four days at i-City here.

Many wholesome activities have been lined up during the carnival, which starts Saturday and runs til Jan 1.

Local artistes Alyah, Fiq, Logeswaran, Suki, Black & Modread and Jinbara will be performing on New Year's Eve, and there will also be a special appearance by Bollywood artistes.

Other activities include caligraphy and cooking contests, lion dance, Chinese and Indian drum competitions, as well as cultural shows.

Throughout the four days, there will also be a job fair and 132 exhibition booths by small-and-medium enterprises and government agencies.

Selangor Barisan Nasional coordinator Datuk Seri Mohd Zin Mohamed said the carnival was targeted at young families.

"We are targeting those 40 years and below, and want them to bring their families along," he told reporters when inspecting the site of the carnival Friday.

Some 1,000 personnel will be on duty to ensure the event runs smoothly, while the police and Rela personnel will help with traffic dispersal.

"Last year, there were complaints that the surau was too small. So we've set up a bigger surau which is able to accomodate 100 people at any one time," he said.

He added that the crowd was anticipated to hit 500,000 this year, as the carnival managed to draw 300,000 people last year.

"Just on New Year's Eve last year, there were 150,000 people. It was jam-packed shoulder-to-shoulder," he said.

Mohd Zin added that 100 non-governmental organisations would also be pledging their support to Barisan Nasional on New Year's Eve, which will be witnessed by Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

Muhyiddin is expected to arrive at 9.30pm on Dec 31 to join in the celebrations and countdown to the new year.