Trend of sending Raya cards to leaders, royal families revives old tradition

KUALA LUMPUR - The practice of sending physical raya cards is now considered outdated and no longer interests young people who prefer sending their Hari Raya wishes and greetings to family members, relatives and friends through social media.

However, observations on social media such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, which are 'close friends' of today's generation, showed many young people still prefer to send physical Hari Raya cards to friends and relatives.

There is now a trend of sending Hari Raya cards to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, the royal family and leaders in the country, which has gone viral, causing excitement among social media users to do the same.

The excitement of sending Raya cards to the government or national leaders, and then receiving a beautiful card in return, is seen able to rekindle the trend of sending physical Raya cards, which has become lost to oblivion due to technological advancement.

For social expert, Prof Datuk Dr Mohammad Shatar Sabran, the trend not only brings back old traditions but also makes the community feel closer to the leaders when the Raya cards they sent get the attention or response from the leaders.

"In this era of technology, physical raya cards, also wedding invitation cards, have been replaced with virtual cards. Nevertheless, they serve the same purpose, to convey a greeting or a speech as a sign of remembrance.

"With the government leaders responding to the Raya cards sent to them, this will help to revive the tradition of sending physical Raya cards. The senders will feel appreciated, making them more enthusiastic about choosing physical cards over virtual ones.

"The feeling of receiving a physical raya card is far different from getting a virtual one because it has a special sentiment, especially when the greetings are handwritten," he said when contacted by Bernama.

He said those who receive physical raya cards from government leaders will share their joy on social media, and some go viral.

"It is not easy to get the attention of the government leaders and because of that they (card recipients) will share their excitement and joy on social media. I see this as a positive thing,” said the chief executive officer of the Malaysian Qualification Agency (MQA).

Meanwhile, Raja Pensel Warna Hasren Ismail, also known as Uneh, said the practice of sending physical Raya cards has become rare now, making the recipients feel privileged.

"When we don’t get such a card often, and someone sends it, it makes us feel more appreciated, especially when we are used to getting many Hari Raya cards.

"It's like books, We now have e-books, but the physical ones are still available,” he said when appearing as a guest on Bernama TV Apa Khabar Malaysia programme with the title "Jangan Lupa Raya Card" recently.

Meanwhile, Uneh said that there is still a demand for physical Raya cards and that as a cartoonist, who produces cartoon-themed Raya cards, he will ensure they are of high quality, special and unique.

"For this year, I have received orders for almost 1,000 cartoon-themed Raya cards. Every card is hand drawn and it takes me between 15 minutes and 30 minutes to complete each card,” he added. - BERNAMA