PM, Cabinet to hold Raya open house today after 2 years

08 May 2022 08:54am

The open house is expected to draw 70,000 visitors

PUTRAJAYA - After a two-year absence due to the Covid-19 pandemic restrictions, Seri Perdana today reopened its doors to thousands of guests and visitors from various backgrounds to attend Raya open house, hosted by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob and Cabinet members.

Today’s event is the first Hari Raya Aidilfitri open house hosted by Ismail Sabri after he was appointed as the prime minister on Aug 20, 2021, and his Cabinet line-up.

The last Prime Minister’s Raya open house was held on June 5, 2019, in Seri Perdana and was hosted by then prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Cabinet members.

It has been a tradition for the Prime Minister’s Raya open house to be held on the first day of Hari Raya Aidilfitri. However, this year it is held on the seventh day of Aidilfitri (May 8), as Ismail Sabri wanted to give the people the opportunity to celebrate the festival with their loved ones in their hometowns first after two years of not being able to do so, before attending the open house in Seri Perdana.

Themed ‘Raya Keluarga Malaysia, Syawal Dirai, Nikmat Disyukuri’, and featuring the village atmosphere concept, more than 70,000 visitors are expected to attend the event where they will be served 40 sumptuous traditional village-style dishes and entertained by cultural performances by Istana Budaya artists.

Apart from Malaysians, foreign tourists who are currently in the country after the reopening of the country's borders on April 1 are also welcome to join in the celebration, from 10 am to 4 pm.

For the convenience of visitors to attend the open house, free shuttle bus services are being provided at three locations, namely in Putrajaya Sentral, Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin Mosque and Putra Mosque to Seri Perdana.

The public can leave their vehicles at the three locations to board the bus service provided by the Putrajaya Corporation which will operate 16 buses starting from 9 am to 7 pm with a frequency of every 15 minutes.

There are two big tents are being set up at Laman Sari, one is the main tent that can accommodate nearly 3,000 visitors at any one time and another large tent that can accommodate up to 2,000 guests.

A total of 20 tents are being set up outside the Seri Perdana Complex for visitors queueing up and waiting for their turn to enter the event as well as facilities for the persons with disabilities (PwDs) and senior citizens.

In compliance with COVID-19 standard operating procedures (SOPs), visitors are encouraged to wear face masks in enclosed areas and practice physical distancing if not wearing face masks.

A total of 200 officers from the Ministry of Health (MOH), District Health Office (PKD), the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM), Civil Defence Force (APM), and People’s Volunteer Corps (RELA), will monitor the compliance of the standard operating procedures (SOPs) for the COVID-19 prevention to ensure the event runs smoothly.- Bernama