The Esplanade ground in Penang was all hyped up with festive cheer and activities during the national-level Christmas open house on Christmas Day.
Thousands of revellers from all walks of life, nationalities, ethnicities and religions thronged the site in the spirit of muhibah despite the scorching heat throughout the event, which started at 2.30pm.
Christmas trees, boxes resembling presents, a huge snowman, were among the decorations at the Esplanade.
Santa Claus and Santarinas were busy giving out candies and posing for photographs with merrymakers.
The crowd was spoilt for choices over delicacies such as laksa, cendol, mee sotong, satay, teh tarik, ais kacang and many more.
There were also hours long of entertainment with various cultural and modern dances, songs performances, carolling, band performances,and drama.
Outstation folk were seen posing with a decorated trishaw on display.
Booths and exhibitions were also set up by various ministries to disseminate information.
A couple from London who only wished to be known as Margaret and Dave felt extremely excited being in such an event.
“It’s such a lovely atmosphere.
“We’ve never seen anything like this before.
“Although we are far from home, it still feels like Christmas here with all the colourful decorations. It is only the weather that is different. It is hot!” said Margaret when met at the open house on Wednesday.
A local at the event, housewife V. Annamah, 50, hoped that open houses for all the main festivals in Malaysia be continued every year.
“I never miss the open house of all the festivals in Penang.
“It’s good to be here, enjoying the shows and food with fellow Malaysians of different races,” she said.
When Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak took to the podium during the opening ceremony, artificial snow filled the stage.
Najib gave a total of RM40,000 to four organisations which have been actively promoting arts, culture and heritage in the country.
They were the Gabungan Persatuan Kebudayaan dan Kesenian Melayu Pulau Pinang, Pertubuhan Belia Dramtis Pulau Pinang, Kumpulan Tarian Klasik Kalailaali Nadana Alaya and Pertubuhan Belia Sikh Malaysia.
During the cheque presentation, a lady in her 60s, suddenly tried to make her way up to the stage, but was stopped by the police.
When asked by the press, the lady said she wanted to hand over a memorandum to Najib and Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng.
She said the memorandum was about her land in Taiping, which was allegedly transferred to a third party in 1995.
The woman, made a second attempt to meet Najib and this time around, she was handcuffed and led to a mobile police station nearby.
Also present at the open house were Tourism and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Tan Sri Joseph Kurup, Penang exco members, assemblymen and dignitaries.
The open house this year was jointly organised by the Tourism and Culture Ministry and the Penang state government, which was held in Malacca last year.
Police helped ensure traffic was flowing smooth along Light Street and nearby streets.
