ID :
375286
Mon, 07/27/2015 - 06:16
Auther :

Contagious Eid Ul-Fitri In Beijing

By Niam Seet Wei BEIJING, July 27 (Bernama) -- A contagious Hari Raya Aidilfitri (Eid ul-Fitri celebration) mood is in the air here, a city located some 4354km from Kuala Lumpur as some 300 Malaysians attended an eid ul-fitri open house hosted by the Malaysian Embassy here Sunday. The crowd, comprising Malaysians residing in Beijing, students, embassy staff and their families, as well as ASEAN diplomats and spouses began congregating at the open house which begin at 3pm. Besides savoury Malaysian food such as satay, lemang, rendang, nasi tomato, fruits, durian ice-cream and white coffee, the familiar Malaysian-accent of English and Chinese, as well as Bahasa Melayu (Malay language) that filled in the air were factors which made Malaysians feel at home. "This event is part of the 'Program Mendampingi Rakyat Malaysia' to let all Malaysians get together and feel at home during the festive season," Malaysian Ambassador to China, Zainuddin Yahya told Bernama. Meanwhile, Singapore Ambassador to China, Stanley Loh described Hari Raya Aidilfitri as one of the events he looked forward to every year, as it enabled him to get together with friends, regardless of race and religion. He said even when he served a stint in Kuala Lumpur about 20 years ago, Hari Raya Aidilfitri was the event he look forward to every year. Loh served as first secretary and later counsellor at the Singapore High Commission in Malaysia between 1997 and 2000. Laos Ambassador Somdy Bounkhoum who attended the open house, said this was the sixth consecutive year that he attended the event. Malaysia's leading pianist Claudia Yang, who currently lives in Beijing with her husband and their twin daughters noted the Malaysian community had been growing over the past five years. "This event makes me miss home," she said. The Malaysian Embassy's second secretary, Al-Fadil Adam, who was also present at the event, said he would be completing his four-year term in office next week. --BERNAMA

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