PM's Raya Open House Part 3 - Entertainment Time

After Makan and Salam...I stayed on at Dato' Sri Najib's Raya Open House. Let's check out the entertainment...

As mentioned earlier, there were two stages - one outside the house (for orang awam) and one in the house (for VIPs). No prize for guessing where I was at.

The line up of artistes would do an RTM producer proud - three colours. :) Malay, Chinese and Indian. :)

This is Dia Fadila. She sang a few Hari Raya songs and have tendency to grab little girls to be brought up the stage. Heheh!

I noticed she has very weird eyebrows. They're like thick moustache growing on her forehead. Time to visit the eyebrow stylist...LOL!

This is Mirwana. Not to be mistaken with Nirvana. :)

They didn't perform any nasyid or religious songs but some raya songs.

From what I gathered, they all have full time jobs and singing is just part of their interests.

Lagu raya pun nak goreng ke? Heheh!

Very peculiar way of singing, eh?

Faizal Tahir used to be in this group before going pop-rock. Do you think any of the group member are as handsome as Faizal Tahir? LOL!

We cannot escape from these two comedians whenever there is a goverment or RTM function. Angeline Tan (representing the Chinese) & Sathiya (representing the Indisns). Of course there were Malay comedians as well but I am too lazy to post their pictures here. :)

Angeline is sweet and has an infectious laugh. Can't say the same to the rest of the emcees though.

This is MK. Not sure what MK stands for. Could be Muthu Kumaran. Or Muzaffar Kaisar. :) I don't really know. He sang a couple of Indian songs. Like Dia, he also have tendency to grab the audience to dance with him on stage. Check out the video later

Iqwal. A young singer who looks like a love child of Michael Jackson from this angle. Heheh! Check out the nose!

Here's a Malay divo - Nassier Wahab who has not aged abit since his appearence in the Malay pop scene since the late 80's.

He did two songs. A raya song and a cha cha number called "Kasih"

Another divo...a popular Chinese singer for RTM variety programs, Kelvin Lau.

Kelvin looked smart in his Baju Melayu. He sang a Malay raya song and the theme song from the Shanghai Bund TV series.

And Kelvin brought the rain too...LOL! Kidding!

These are Kelvin's platform shoes. I think he managed to add a couple of inches to his height....

The one that got away.....

I only managed to snap a pic of Jaclyn Victor's behind. She was rushing to perform at the VIP stage. The A-list artistes like Jaclyn Victor and Jamal Abdillah were reserved for the VIP stage up there. This is totally unfair! :(

After seeing the pictures, let's watch the performances of the artistes.

Watch out for Iqwal and his three African dancers, doing an Indian number. Very 1Malaysia 1World!

ENJOY!

This is the final post from Dato' Sr Najib's Raya Open House. Hope you enjoyed reading the posts. Comments are always welcome.

CANON Photo Marathon 2009

Friday, September 25, 2009 12:14 PM

From: "charlene_chan@cmm.canon.com.my"

To: runwitme@gmail.com

Hi Mr/Ms runwitme

Your registration for the Canon PhotoMarathon 2009 is successful.

Venue: Sunway Lagoon (Elephant Walk)

Date: 10th October 2009

Time : 7am

See you there!!

- Canon Marketing (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd.

p/s: No. You don't have to run 42.195km with your camera.

More details below.

http://www.canon-asia.com/photomarathon2009/malaysia/index.html

PM's Raya Open House Part 2 - Salam Time

Salam 1Malaysia taking over Salam Aidil Fitri? :P

No trip to Seri Perdana on a Raya morning is complete until you shake the Prime Minister's hand to wish him "Selamat Hari Raya".

In that process you have to shake ALL of the jemaah menteris' hands....whether you like it or not! LOL!

The queue is usually long but I arrived early remember?

So, after filling up my stomach, I marched to the the PM's house. I was within the first 50 orang awam to be in line. These are the people arrived who earlier than me....

The door to the residence only opened at 11:00am. But when they said 11:00am, it actually meant 11:30am or later-lah.

Kesian aku tengok budak nih! Penat menunggu! Heheh!

While waiting I took some pictures of the kids around the area.

This one looked so cute with her head scarf! But she ripped it off her head afterwards much to the mother's dismay. Can't blame the little girl! The weather was really H.O.T!

The line was moving! Yay!

As a precaution for H1N1, we were all sprayed with handsanitisers at the entrance to the residence.

I got my hand squirted with the clear germkiller gel 3 times!!! If that's not an overkill, I don't know what is. LOL!

I joked that they should provide the hand sanitiser after and not before shaking the "dirty hands" of politicians! Nobody dared to laugh. Oops! Bad joke!

FYI, most hand sanitiser are alcohol based. Are they halal to use? Most sanitizers contain 60 percent to 90 percent alcohol (commonly ethyl or isopropyl alcohol) -- a stronger concentration than most hard liquors.

Even a small dose can be dangerous if ingested, leading to dizziness, slurred speech, headaches, and even brain damage or fatalities in extreme cases.

I dunno what the ulamaks have to say about this. I can't comment much on this since I am non Muslim.

I didn't take any pictures because the guard said no photo. So, I just hung my camera on my neck and let the video mode ran. See who you can spot me shaking hands with! Some of the heads were chopped off. LOL! :)

And all the germkiller hand sanitiser that they squired on my hands became useless when one Dr. Ng Yen Yen sneezed on me! She said something about my magnetic power. I have no idea what to say but, "Bless You and OK" :)

ENJOY!

We were presented with a goodie bag on our way out from the house.

What's in the Goodie Bag?

Dengan Ingatan Tulus Ikhlas dari Dato' Sri Najib & Datin Seri Rosmah...

1 X Dodol

2 X Kuih Bahulu

2 X Kuih Bangkit

I realised something very peculiar on my out. As I was heading back to the food area it struck me that the only people who I saw wearing the 1Malaysia T-Shirts were the foreign workers of the catering services.

How ironic! :)

The makan continued....with entertainment this time.

Coming next...the amazing photos and snippets of entertainment from the stage.

PM's Raya Open House Part 1 - Makan Time

First day of raya. First time Dato' Sri Mohd Najib Tun Abd Razak organising open house as Malaysia Primi Minister. But it was my second time to a PM's Open House in Seri Perdana. I visited Dr. M's Raya Open House many years ago.

Festivities and free food...I said why not? :)

So, around 8am, I took a Rapid Bus to Putrajaya. I was not alone. There were half bus full of people going to Putrajaya too, including a bunch of Chinese tourists.

Upon reaching KL Sentral, I looked for the feeder bus to Seri Perdana. No problem! They provided FREE bus service to the PM house too. Otherwise we have to pay 50sen per ride. :)

No queue? Hahah! I was early. I reach Seri Perdana around 9:15am.

The workers were busy making the last preparation anticipating the arrival of thousands of people.

The colour scheme of the day was purple and white. :) Not pink like somebody's website. LOL!

There were a few "stalls" serving ice cold cordial drinks along the walkway to Seri Perdana. Not very useful for me at that moment, but I guess as the crowd grew and the wait got longer, these stalls would provide cool reliefs to the those in the queue. How very thoughful! :)

Now, Malaysians most favourite four letter word - FOOD! :)

Kuih Talam, Bingka Ubi, Kuih Lapis, Kek Pisang, Bahulu, Soto Rembau, Mee Rebus Muar, Laksa Kuah Kedah, Roti John Pekan, Roti Canai, Mee Goreng, Kuey Tiaw Goreng, Lemang, Nasi Briyani, Ketupat, Rendang Ayam, Rendang Daging, Sate Ayam, Cendol, Tosai, Idli....the list went on. (Insert slurping sound effect here!)

I must say I was spoiled for choices! I took a plate of rice with rendang for starter and washed down with a bowl of ice cool cendol! Yum!

As reported by NST, Head chef Along Eu, of Kuzie Catering Sdn Bhd, estimated that 600kg of rice, 500kg of beef and more than 400 whole chickens were cooked and served during the day by a staff of 250! Wow!

Would you like to try my hot tosai? ;)

Some of the food were prepared fresh! What impressed me most is the traditional food demo! I love this!

Guests were allowed to participate in making the dodol and kuih wajik!

The art of making traditional delicacies is slowly fading. I think it is a very good idea to show new generation how these are used to be made in kampungs.

The cooked kuih wajik and dodol were served to the guests...

Yum! Dodol - the Malay "chewing gum" (left) and Kuih Wajik (Glutinous rice cake with palm sugar)

One peculiar dish that made its way to Dato' Sri Najib's Open House Menu was Roti John Pekan!

I am from Pekan (the Royal Town of Pahang) and I don't even know that Pekan is famous for Roti John! LOL!

FYI, Dato' Sri Najib is also Pekan's current Member of Parliament. See the connection?

So what is Roti John? It is one of the greasiest food I that I have ever encountered in my whole life! - pan fried bread plastered with fried eggs, minced meat, topped with tomato/ chili sauce and then smouldered with tonnes of mayonnaise! :)

Eat at your own risk! LOL!

Food was abundant. This photo was taken around 3pm when the Open House supposed to end! Still plenty left....

Some "brilliant" ones brought plastic bags to take home the food. Must be professional Open House visitors! Who would have thought to bring plastic bags to an open house like this?

(Note: To self - bring big plastic bags to Najib's Open House next year!) LOL!

Now the video....I'm sure you will salivate watching the yummy food! :)

See how Malaysia come together when it comes to food! :) As I said, FOOD is Malaysia's favourite Four letter words. :)

ENJOY!

Note: Soundtrack - Indahnya Di Hari Raya, a beautiful duet by Dayang Nurfaizah and Jaclyn Victor.

Coming next: Salam time with PM and his parade of ministers.

Ten Fainted @ PM's Raya Open House

According to the latest news from NST, ten people were reported fainted at the Dato' Sri Mohd Najib Tun Abd Razak's open house at Seri Perdana on first day of Raya.

Out of 10, I managed to caught one on video. As I was tucking in the delicious satay at the "orang awam" tents, I saw the paramedics; rushing the poor girl to the ambulance. When it comes to busybody news like this, I always have my camera ready. :)

Wonder what had caused the fainting spells? Eaten too much Roti John at the buffet table? Drink too much air oren? Stood too long in the knee locked position in the queue to meet the PM and his ministers? Too smittened by the Shah Rukh Khan lookalikes at the food preparation area? Well, the workers at the open house were mainly foreigners, probably from Bangladesh or Pakistan. :)

Could it be possible that she fainted after she had heard the explosive singing voice of our multitalented First Lady, Datin Seri Rosmah?

This photo was lifted from the internet. I didn't take this pic. :)

Heheh! I don't know.

According to NST, the VIPS were entertained by Rosmah, who took to the stage to sing several songs including the Lauren Wood classic, Fallen, from the Pretty Woman soundtrack.

I don't have the such privilege to hear her sing. There were two stages at the Open House - one for Orang Awam (common people - like yours truly) on the field and one for the VIPs in the residence building itself.

Perhaps that's a good thing, no? :)

Tearful Reunion on Hari Raya

A boy was separated from his family in a sea of wellwishers at our Prime Minister's Aidilfitri Open House yesterday. His eyes were tearing as he was brought on stage by the emcees.

Did he managed to get reunited with his family again?

Click play to find out...

More videos to come....from Seri Perdana, the official residence of our PM - Dato' Sri Mohd Najib Tun abd Razak.

Selamat Berhari Raya - 1 Syawal 1430

Saya ingin mengucapkan Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Fitri kepada semua rakan-rakan and pembaca-pembaca yang beragama Islam. Maaf Zahir & Batin. Jika ada tersilap tulis atau terlanjur laku, janganlah di simpan di hati.

Kepada yang bukan Islam, Selamat bercuti!!!

Terimalah video Hari Raya rakaman dan suntingan saya sendiri. Video telah dirakamkan sekitar pusat-pusat membeli-belah di Lembah Klang. Lihatlah betapa unik and cantiknya hiasan-hiasan di shopping malls sempena Hari raya ini.

ENJOY!

Nota: Lagu latar - Selamat Berhari Raya, dendangan Dayang Nurfaizah & Jaclyn Victor.

Jalan-jalan Ke Melaka

The initial plan was a trip to Tasik Bera, the largest freshwater lake in Malaysia. Somehow the plan got scrapped and we ended up driving to Melaka for a weekender.

This is my first trip to Melaka after this historical city centre been listed as a prominent World Heritage Site of UNESCO on 7 July 2008.

Melaka is not only famous for her glorious history but also glorious gastronomical delights. This time, no running just eating and sight-seeing!

Our first stop was a famous Satay Celup (also known as luk luk) or "dipping satay" restaurant.

Fresh seafood, meat, eggs, vegetable, mushrooms are skewered on bamboo sticks. To cook them, we have to dip the satays into a pot of spicy peanut sauce which is placed into a hole on the table. Underneath the table is a gas cooker.

Each stick of satay costs around 50-60 sen. Definitely yummy! My favourite is the "yau char kwai". It really soaks in the flavour of the sauce.

Eye On Malaysia used to be located in Lake Titiwangsa in KL. It found a new home by the Straits of Melaka.

We didn't go up the Eye On Malaysia. Just took its picture from far with the dramatic sunset as backdrop.

Gigantic Ferris wheel...about 60m high providing visitors spectacular views around the Melaka river mouth.

After the sunset, we "loitered" around the ARENA area for some nightscene photographs.

Beautifully lit but devoid of crowd. I wonder how the businesses in this place are going to survive?

After we dumping our luggage at out hotel, we explored the Jonker Walk. I will cover Jonker Walk in a separate post because there were so much to see and eat there! Heheh! We also visited the red Dutch buiding - The Stadthuys and its surrounding.

We made a brief trip to the Portuguese settlement in the next morning. Nothing much to see there. Only one restaurant was open for lunch. It is recommended to visit this place at night or during the San Juan and Christmas festival.

In the afternoon, I made a "pilgrimage" to A' Famosa. A trip to Melaka is not complete if I don't visit this place. I just love the historical feel of this area. Heheh!

An Iguana basking on the cannon in front of A' Famosa.

It actually belongs to a man who charges RM5 for a photo with the gorgeous reptile!

"May I stroke your animal?..."

On a hot afternoon, this is a bowl of heaven....Authentic Durian Cendol with 100% Gula Melaka...Yum!

I have put together a video of the things I see and experience over the weekend in Melaka. Since Melaka was once colonised with the Portuguese, I use a Portuguese song as the soundtrack. Sounds familiar? Anyone know the original title of this cover? And by whom? :)

ENJOY!

Coming soon - more food at Jonker Walk. It should be renamed Yum Yum Walk! :)