Aidilfitri Open House Attracts Good Turnout Of Malaysian Guests

By: Manik Mehta NEW YORK, Aug 11 (Bernama) -- The UMNO US East Coast Club organised an Aidilfitri Open House at the Roosevelt Island’s Lighthouse Park in New York on Saturday which attracted a good turnout of Malaysian students, government officials and others. Malaysian nationals from far and near – including a couple of Malaysians who had even come from Canada – descended on the Lighthouse Park to mingle with each other, exchange experiences and enjoy the Malaysian food and desserts offered to the guests. There were roughly 150 guests on the occasion. In an interview with Bernama at the venue, Shamil Norshidi, the President of Kelab UMNO US East Coast, explained the reasons for holding the event which, as he put it, was organised by the Malaysian community after two recent tragic events – the MH370 plane disappearance and the downing of the MH17 passenger aircraft in Eastern Ukraine. Norshidi, a 21-year-old student of Political Science and English at the Stony Brooke University in New York, said that the purpose behind organising the event was, primarily, "to interact with the community and show solidarity with each other". "We also wanted to meet each other after the two tragic incidents (involving the MH370 and MH17 aircraft), and share our sorrow and experiences and, at the same time, get on with our lives," Norshidi said. While the Kelab UMNO US East Coast had organised the event under its aegis, it had also received strong support from other associations, Nordishi said. The Malaysian Association of America (MAA), a federation of all Malaysian associations, had given financial support. Other organisations such as the New York office of Tourism Malaysia, Teach for Malaysia (TfM), and the New York Malaysia Association pooled in their resources in other forms to support the event. Nordishi said that the Malaysians gathered at the Lighthouse Park event had the 'feel-good- Malaysian' feeling again. "The event also unites Malaysians and enables them to observe our Malaysian traditions even though we are far away from home. This is only one of the many events we are organising. Indeed, the Kelab UMNO US East Coast has even introduced an ‘open arms policy’ and would also like other ethnic groups such as the Chinese, Indians, etc. to join us and share with us their views, their issues and what have you. "This is one way for us to find out more about their interests and sensitise all sides to each other’s interests, thus bringing us closer to each other. We are also planning to organise Deepavali and Chinese New Year celebrations for our members to respect and observe their festivals," he added. The chief guest at the Aidilfitri Open House event was Dr Awang Adek Hussin, the Malaysian ambassador to the United States, who had specially come from Washington DC to attend the event and interact with the Malaysian community on the east coast. Norshidi announced the arrival of the ambassador to the guests, many of whom were meeting him for the first time. One Malaysian female student, who had taken an eight-hour journey from Buffalo, told Bernama that she was 'very impressed' by the ambassador's 'humility and his down-to-earth approach'. Others present at the event included the new Malaysian consul-general in New York, Abdul Razak Abdul Wahab, and heads of other government agencies in New York such as Malaysian Industrial Development Authority (MIDA) and Malaysia External Trade Development Corp. The United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) is Malaysia's largest political party and is currently leading the National Front of ruling coalition Barisan Nasional (BN). -- BERNAMA