Thousands attend Hari Raya open house at Istana Negara


Sultan Muhammad V greets visitors to Istana Negara for the Hari Raya open house.

KUALA LUMPUR: About 25,000 people attended the Hari Raya Aidilfitri open house hosted on Sunday by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Sultan Muhammad V, at the compound of Istana Negara.

The people, including many foreign tourists, gathered at the open house from as early as 9.30am although His Majesty was only scheduled to exchange greetings with guests from noon.

Various types of traditional food and drinks were served at the open house, including satay, laksa, roti jala and kerepok lekor.

All visitors were presented with raya cookies.

One of those present was Mizoi Harata, 23, a Japanese student from a private educational institution, who had come at the insistence of friends.

"This is my second year as a student in Malaysia. I find Malaysia to be a unique country, with a diversity of races and languages. I'll be missing this country once I'm back in Japan.

"Last year, I celebrated Aidilfitri at my friend's hometown in Terengganu, and this year at Istana Negara. I love it," she said.

M. Ragunathan, 46, of Sentul was also attending the open house for the first time.

"I read about the open house in the newspaper. So, I decided to bring my family over," he said.

Yasser Ahmed, 35, a tourist from Saudi Arabia visiting Malaysia for the third time, said it was his maiden visit to the open house.

"My previous visits were not during Hari Raya. Our travel agent informed about this open house and we came here around noon and managed to partake of some Malaysian food," he said.

Edwan Tan, 48, of Sarawak was also at the open house with some friends.

He said he makes it a point to attend the open house at Istana Negara whenever he has the chance.

"This is the only opportunity for the people to visit Istana Negara, once a year. It is good to see so many people of various races at this special occasion," he said. – Bernama

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