Joyous Hari Raya celebration at PM's official residence

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and his wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor waving the crowd present at the Hari Raya Open House at Sri Perdana

It was a joyous Hari Raya celebration at Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's official residence here.

Elegantly dressed in a royal blue baju Melayu, Najib, accompanied by cabinet ministers, came down to greet the public at 11am with a warm welcome.

Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhiyiddin Yassin and wife Puan Sri Norainee Abdul Rahman both wearing pink traditional attire, joined the line soon after.
Najib's wife, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, wearing a matching blue baju kurung, their daughter and her fiancee joined him an hour later, before the family moved to the dining area to entertain their guests.

The dignitaries included former ministers, ambassadors and high commissioners, governmental and non-governmental organisation leaders and prominent artistes.

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Raya bus tickets going fast

Those to Kelantan and Terengganu are almost sold out

KUALA LUMPUR: EXPRESS bus tickets to Kelantan and Terengganu for Hari Raya Aidilfitri are almost sold out.

Checks by the New Straits Times at the Putra bus terminal here yesterday found many operators had sold almost all their tickets for East Coast-bound buses.

Tickets for Kota Baru were almost sold out while those for Kuala Terengganu were selling fast.

Mara Liner Sdn Bhd had sold out tickets to Kuala Terengganu and it planned to offer extra trips on Aug 5 and 7 at 11pm, depending on the demand.

Floral festival in Putrajaya draws 800,000

ABOUT 800,000 people visited the city's iconic Floria Putrajaya 2013 since the festival began more than a week ago.

Putrajaya Corporation president Tan Sri Aseh Che Mat said the turnout was impressive, although the country was hit by the haze when the festival kicked off on June 22.

Due to the turnout, he said, the event, which was in its sixth year, was still declared a success despite falling short of the one million visitor target.

The event, which was launched by Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah, featured more than 400,000 species of flowers and plants, as well as activities for visitors over the last nine days.

"Due to the weather, most visitors came at night. This forced us to keep the doors open until 2am," he said during his speech at the festival's closing ceremony yesterday.

Present was Deputy Federal Territories Minister Datuk Dr J. Loga Bala Mohan.

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Floral Boat Parade in Putrajaya

Colourful floral boats decorated the Putrajaya Precinct Two waterfront to kick off the 1Malaysia International Tourism Night Floral Parade Saturday night.

Lion dance galore

To usher in the Chinese New Year, several hotels and malls bring in lion dance troupes to entertain patrons and visitors.

Trick or treats?

Costume parties and trick or treating. Several American families living in Taman Tar, Ampang got the neighbourhood in the Halloween mood.

Row over festival stalls Submitted by shaza on Thursday, October 13th, 2011 * Brickfields Deepavali bazaar * Local * News * Community Refusal to move and threat to revoke licences mar City Hall enforcement in Brickfields

FINGER-POINTING: A City Hall officer and some of the stall operators during the argument
CLEAR PATH: Some stalls have made an effort not to block the tactile walkway


An argument between several Deepavali stall operators in Brickfields and a KL City Hall (DBKL) enforcement officer who threatened to revoke their licences and seize their goods led to enforcement action being called off yesterday.

This "war in Little India" happened about noon in Jalan Tun Sambanthan.

The arrival of a police patrol car calmed matters down, with City Hall officers agreeing to halt their enforcement action for the time being, pending a meeting among City Hall, the stall operators and the Indian Petty Traders Association Kuala Lumpur.

PM's Dept Hari Raya open house

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor on Wednesday joined about 4,000 Prime Minister's Department personnel at the Hari Raya open house of the department.

Thousands line Penang streets for annual float procession

Thousands of Buddhist devotees, locals and tourists waited along several streets in Penang to watch the annual Wesak Day float procession.

Devotees throng temples to offer alms, seek blessings

Buddhists yesterday paid homage to Lord Buddha at temples nationwide in conjunction with Wesak Day.

Alms and flowers, along with incense sticks and oil or butter lamps, were offered by devotees, who in turn received the blessings of Buddhist monks on this auspicious day.

More than 50,000 people thronged the Buddhist Maha Vihara temple in Brickfields here over the last two days, culminating in celebrations yesterday.


A total of 20,000 oil lamps were placed on the temple grounds for devotees to light up.

About 10,000 packs of free vegetarian meals were distributed to devotees with an endless supply of drinks.

Activities held in conjunction with Wesak Day celebrations included an exhibition on the life of Buddha, games and colouring contests for children, and a blood donation drive.

Penang to spend RM1.2m for arts festival

Guan Eng announced today that this year’s George Town Festival will take place in July and will feature over 80 programmes.

The Penang government will be injecting RM1.2 million into this year’s George Town Festival, an annual month-long event to celebrate the city’s Unesco World Heritage listing, which was granted in 2008.

Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng announced today that this year’s event was set to be even more successful than last year’s, featuring local and international entrepreneurs in the arts industry such as Datuk Jimmy Choo, Zang Toi, Yeoh Lee, Akram Khan and international model Ling Tan.

“We hope to make this festival a premier event in Malaysia ... we want to turn it into an international event.

“The state has committed itself to this adventure. It will be a rollercoaster ride for us for we had to start from scratch but sometimes, one cannot take the easy way out,” he said during his speech at the launch of the event at the Lot 10 shopping centre here this afternoon.

Lim added that the RM1.2 million earmarked to fund the event was “money well spent”, adding that the state wanted to boost and encourage creativity by providing a platform for those in the arts to showcase their talents.

George Town Fest short of RM4mil

The second George Town Festival, an annual arts and cultural event to celebrate the listing of George Town as a Unesco World Heritage site, is in need for RM4 million to meet its budget.

The month-long celebration, initiated by the Paktan Rakyat-ruled Penang government, has invited international celebrities, including fashion designer Zang Toi, shoemaker Jimmy Choo, Asian supermodel Ling Tan and dancer Akram Khan, to showcase their work.

Thousands line Penang streets for annual float procession

Thousands of Buddhist devotees, locals and tourists waited along several streets in Penang to watch the annual Wesak Day float procession.

Hold dialogues for religious harmony

WESAK BLESSING... A monk blessing devotees at the Buddhist Maha Vihara temple in Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur, on Wesak Day yesterday. Buddhists congregated at temples throughout the country on the auspicious day which falls on the full moon of the Vesakha month to mark Gautama Buddha’s birth in Kapilavastu, Nepal, enlightenment under the Bodhi tree in Bodh Gaya and his death in Kusinara, India.



Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin planting a tree to commemorate his first visit to the Buddhist Maha Vihara temple in Brickfields yesterday. At right is the Buddhist chief high priest of Malaysia Datuk K. Sri Dhammaratana.



Religious understanding and acceptance among the various communities in the country can be achieved through continuous inter-religious dialogues.

Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said mutual respect and sincerity formed the foundation for continued harmony in a multi-religious society.

"Although Islam is the official religion, others can still practice their faiths in peace and harmony as enshrined in the Constitution," he said in his speech to mark Wesak Day celebrations at the Buddhist Maha Vihara temple in Brickfields here yesterday.


"The role of the leaders of religious groups is very important. They must continue holding inter-religious dialogues to gain respect and understanding among the different groups.

Wesak Day celebration

Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin attended the Wesak Day celebrations at the Buddhist Maha Vihara temple in Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday.

Happy Wesak Day

(TOP) A father and his daughter placing a donation in conjunction with Wesak Day celebrations at the Chetawan buddhist temple in Petaling Jaya. (BOTTOM) A mother guiding her son as the lad prepares to place the lit cup at the Chetawan buddhist temple. -

Loh Kian Giap, 3, lights up the lotus candles for prayer at Chempaka Buddhist Lodge for Wesak Day today.

The Wesak Day float procession started from the Buddhist Maha Vihara temple for 12 kilometre journey around Kuala Lumpur

Amazing Grace KLpac Orchestra

The “Candlelight Christmas” concert by the klpac Orchestra and Choir presented the “Amazing Grace,” a familiar hymn to almost everyone.

The Dong Zhi Festival or Winter Solstice Festival is celebrated with ‘tong yuen’ or glutinous rice balls that symbolize family unity.

The Dong Zhi Festival or Winter Solstice Festival is celebrated with ‘tong yuen’ or glutinous rice balls that symbolize family unity.