"Multi-Racial Participation Will Encourage 1Malaysia-Themed Wedding"

KUALA LUMPUR, June 22 (Bernama) -- The Information Communications and Culture Ministry will intensify efforts to lure more non-Malay bridal entrepreneurs to participate in the Wedding Promotion 2012 programme to encourage the organising of 1Malaysia-themed wedding. Its deputy minister, Maglin Dennis D'Cruz, said with the participation of multi-racial entrepreneurs in the programme, the visitors, especially future brides and grooms, would have exposure to new cultures, customs and lifestyles of other communities in the country. In fact, he said it would also attract tourist couples to tie the knot in a traditional wedding ceremony in Malaysia, and thus, uplift the status of Malaysian cultures and local handicrafts. "Our country is rich in cultural diversity that can be further promoted, including in wedding ceremony. So, the ministry is encouraging bridal entrepreneurs from all races to join this programme. "So far, the number of participants for this year's programme has increased tremendously from the previous years, especially among entrepreneurs from Sabah, Sarawak as well as from the Baba and Nyonya community," he told a press conference here Thursday. Present was Malaysian Handicraft Development Corporation (Kraftangan Malaysia) director-general Mohd Kamil Mohd Ali. The 13-day Wedding Promotion 2012 programme, which is the seventh in its series, is organised by Kraftangan Malaysia. It is open from 10am to 10pm at the Craft Complex in Jalan Conlay here. Among other activities lined up for the programme are an exhibition on handicraft-based wedding decorations, mass wedding, pre-wedding course, bridal art competition, bridal make-up demonstration and wedding food promotion. -- BERNAMA