PUTRAJAYA: People from all walks of life made a beeline today to attend the Aidilfitri open house of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and Cabinet ministers at Seri Perdana, the prime minister’s official residence, here.
The crowd started queueing as early as 8 am at the entrance of Seri Perdana to attend the open house, scheduled from 10.30 am to 4 pm.
Also playing host, besides Najib and his wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, were Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and his wife Puan Sri Noorainee Abdul Rahman; Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein; Rural and Regional Development Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal and Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri G. Palanivel.
As soon as the gates opened, the Seri Perdana grounds were transformed into a sea of people who took the opportunity to greet and take photographs with Najib, who appeared resplendent in orange-red Baju Melayu.
There were also diplomats and leaders from both sides of the political divide, tourists as well as NGO representatives.
The well-wishers were served a variety of food, mostly local delicacies such as satay, rendang, lemang, ketupat and nasi himpit, and those leaving after the meal also received a goodies pack while children were given ‘duit raya’.
A free shuttle bus service was provided to pick up and drop off people at three locations, namely Putrajaya Sentral, Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin Mosque and Putra Mosque, at 15-minute intervals.
In a live interview with the Astro Awani television channel, Najib expressed happiness at the people’s response to the open house.
He said the presence of thousands of people from the various communities helped foster greater national solidarity and harmony.
“Alhamdullilah (Praise be to God), it was a tremendous response to the open house at Seri Perdana. I exchanged greetings with the people. I really appreciate the people’s attendance today,” he said in the interview, also attended by Rosmah.
Najib said the weekend brawl at the Low Yat Plaza in Kuala Lumpur, which could have developed into a racial clash if not for swift action by the police to quell the situation, showed the need for the people to have respect for one another and strengthen unity for a more harmonious future.
“Some people were carried away by emotions, not to mention that they did not consider the facts of the incident.
“We have to defend the truth and what we have built over the years, the people living in peace and harmony,” he said.
-Bernama
