Just like a happy family: Members of the Malaysian students’ organisations and University Muslim Society of University of Queensland, Australia, posing for a group photo.
PETALING JAYA: With Hari Raya just round the corner, Malaysians overseas find themselves feeling a little homesick as they are unable to return home to celebrate the joyous occasion with their loved ones.
University of New South Wales student Muhammad Fakrul Famizi Masri, 21, said he wanted to return home for the celebration, but airfares from Australia were just too high.
“So staying put in Sydney is the sensible choice.
“I’d be lying if I said I’m not sad about it – scared too, actually, as it will be my first time celebrating Hari Raya away from my family,” the business economics student said.
Muhammad Fakrul said he would also miss the Hari Raya atmosphere in his hometown of Kuantan.
“The annual Raya pictures with family, my father’s humour, my mother’s ketupat with rendang and her amazing Penang laksa – I will miss all this for sure.”
However, he is in good spirits, saying that he looks forward to celebrating the festival with his new-found family in Sydney.
“The Malaysian-Muslim community in Sydney is quite big, so we can still visit each other’s houses and have a ‘rumah terbuka’ (open house) with a potluck concept.
“As freshies, we will also take pictures together in our Hari Raya outfits at the Sydney Opera House for memory.
“You can take me out of Malaysia, but you can never take Malaysia out of me,” added Muhammad Fakrul.
Student and freelance digital marketer Zatul Iffah Fakharuldin, 30, also based in Australia, said she couldn’t make it back home to Malaysia due to work and classes.
Creating memories: Siti Jehan (standing fourth from right) is looking forward to celebrating Hari Raya Aidilfitri with her colleagues in Hangzhou, China for the third time.
“It’s really sad looking at the flight ticket every night and wishing to be at my kampung with my parents.”
Since Hari Raya is on a weekday, Zatul Iffah and her husband will go to a mosque in the morning before heading back to work.
To keep the festive spirit alive, Zatul Iffah said she will visit her friends and attend Hari Raya events.
“During the weekend, the Consulate General of Malaysia in Melbourne invited us for their Hari Raya events. We will also visit our friends as well.”
University of California student Dzikri Raimi, 21, said he will not return home since he’s in the middle of the academic year and there’s no break.
He also said that going back to Malaysia would take around two days for the journey alone.
“It’s too time consuming for me to return home,” said the political science student.
Dzikri said before this, he had celebrated Hari Raya without his family due to exams but has yet to experience it abroad alone.
“I’ll miss the Raya atmosphere in Malaysia! There’s barely any excitement for Aidilfitri here. It’s just going to be a random Wednesday for me.”
Another student from the University of Queensland, Asha Naziera, 21, also said that she won’t be going back as her midterm falls on Raya week.
“Well, that is the price of studying abroad. It is quite disappointing not being able to celebrate Raya physically with my family.”
Master’s student in University of Warwick Irdina Razak, 24, would still enjoy the occasion despite having to celebrate it thousands of miles away in the United Kingdom with her friends.
“This is not my first time celebrating away from home, but it is the first without my family.
“Having a close-knit family like mine, Raya is always filled with laughter.
“As a rendang and lemang lover, celebrating Raya abroad feels incomplete but we’ll try and make do,” the Ipoh girl said.
In Hangzhou, China, Siti Jehan Ahmad Bakatal, 47, said it has been her third time celebrating Hari Raya there.
The Johor-born Proton project management and localisation assistant manager said she longed for “sambal goreng pengantin” and beef rendang the most.
“I would cook it on my own. I even brought along lemongrass, galangal and turmeric leaves from Malaysia as they are not available here,” she said.
In the bustling city of Tokyo, far from the tropical warmth of Malaysia, 24-year-old Reo Kusaba has found a second home within the vibrant Malaysian community.
It was during his exchange year at Universiti Malaya in 2022 that Kusaba first encountered the colourful festivities of Hari Raya Aidilfitri.
Returning to Japan did not dampen Kusaba’s enthusiasm for Malaysian festivals.
Last year, he celebrated Hari Raya with Malaysian friends in Tokyo.
This year, he will be celebrating with Malaysians in Japan at the city centre, aiming to continue creating fond memories.
