Saturday October 13, 2007
Thousands at PM’s open house (update 4)
By MANJIT KAUR, ROYCE CHEAH and NG SI HOOI
KUALA LUMPUR: About 200,000 people from around the country attended the Hari Raya open house hosted by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and his Cabinet ministers at the Putra World Trade Centre on Saturday.
Among them were business leaders, educationists and leaders from the opposition parties led by DAP adviser and Opposition leader Lim Kit Siang.
Foreign tourists and international students also took the opportunity to attend the open house.
Abdullah, dressed in a gold-coloured baju melayu, greeted guests, accompanied by his wife Datin Seri Jeanne Abdullah, who was dressed in a cream-coloured baju kurung with gold embroidery.
This was the first time Abdullah hosted the Hari Raya open house with Jeanne.
Also greeting guests were Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, his wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, Cabinet ministers and their wives.
The event was opened to the public from 12.30pm to 5.30pm, while VIPs including foreign dignitaries and ambassadors started arriving from 11am.
Earlier in the day, Abdullah was at Istana Negara where he had an audience with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin.
Tuanku Mizan hosted an open house for Cabinet ministers, dignitaries and foreign diplomats at the Istana on Saturday morning.
In SHAH ALAM, thousands of people from all walks of life were at the open house hosted by Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, at Istana Bukit Kayangan on Saturday.
Some people turned out as early as 8am to celebrate Hari Raya with the Sultan.
Among those present were Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Khir Toyo and foreign dignitaries.
At the Selangor Youth and Cultural Complex in Section 7, some 10,000 people thronged the open house hosted by the Mentri Besar and his wife Datin Seri Zahrah Kechik.
Among the VIPs who attended the function were MCA President Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting and wife Datin Seri Wendy Ong, and MIC President Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu.
Dr Khir will be holding another open house on Oct 20 at his residence at Simpang 5, Sungai Besar in Sabak Bernam.
In IPOH, more than 3,000 people attended the open house of Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamad Tajol Rosli Ghazali at his residence here on Saturday.
The Mentri Besar, his wife Datin Seri Kamariah Mokri and their three daughters greeted visitors from as far as Penang and Kuala Lumpur.
Among those present were state officials, representatives from the Barisan Nasional component parties and associations such as the Perak Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Tajol Rosli said he was delighted that Malaysians of all ethnic groups would take the time to attend open house gatherings.
"This is true even for festivals like Chinese New Year and Deepavali, and augurs well for the future of the country," he said.
In JOHOR BARU, thousands attended the open house hosted by the Sultan of Johor, Sultan Iskandar Ibni Almarhum Sultan Ismail, at the Istana Besar.
Long queues were seen outside the palace as members of the public along with state officials took the opportunity to personally wish the Sultan.
Meanwhile, the Tunku Mahkota of Johor, Tunku Ibrahim Ismail, hosted his own open house after attending the celebrations at the Istana Besar.
At the open house hosted by Johor Mentri Besar, Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman, around 50,000 people were seen joining in the festivities.
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