KING, QUEEN GRACE AIDILFITRI OPEN HOUSE AT JOHOR'S ISTANA BESAR

JOHOR BAHRU, March 22 (Bernama) -- His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia, graced the Aidilfitri open house at Istana Besar here today.

The King was accompanied by Her Majesty Raja Zarith Sofiah, Queen of Malaysia; the Regent of Johor, Tunku Mahkota Ismail; his consort Che’ Puan Mahkota Khaleeda Johor; and Their Royal Highnesses’ children.

Also present were Menteri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi and his wife Datin Sharmin Fazlina Mohd Shukor.

More than 20,000 people of various races attended the Istana Johor open house, as members of the public began queuing outside the palace gates as early as 6.30 am.

Many arrived with their families to experience the festive celebration at the palace, which featured more than 17 stalls offering a variety of traditional and modern dishes.

Among the crowd favourites were ketupat, lemang, rendang and KFC, as well as various traditional kuih and many other delicacies.

The Queen then spent time greeting members of the public in attendance, accompanied by Tunku Mahkota Ismail and Che’ Puan Mahkota Khaleeda.

Most guests told Bernama that they were excited to have the opportunity to meet members of the royal family.

Civil servant Zairi Karim, 42, said that although this was his fifth time attending the palace open house, he and his family would continue to come even if they had to queue for a long time.

“I will still come because I want to meet our beloved royal family. I am from Johor, I love my Sultan. I started queuing as early as 8.30 am, and only managed to enter an hour later,” said the father of four.

Sharing the same sentiment, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) student from Nigeria, Adamu Chiroma, who was dressed in full baju Melayu attire, said that he was happy to celebrate the festive occasion in a foreign country.

“You know, when you are in a country, or when you meet people, you need to adapt and become a part of it. That’s what makes me wear a baju Melayu and feel joyful. Today, the food is very good, and Malaysians are very generous,” he said.

--BERNAMA