WELCOME SPEECH BY

SHUKRI HANAFIAH

DEPUTY DIRECTOR, COMMUNICATIONS & PUBLICITY DIVISION

AT THE WELCOME LUNCH FOR MEGA FAM

IN CONJUNCTION WITH

NATIONAL CHINESE NEW YEAR OPEN HOUSE 2015

WEIL HOTEL, IPOH

SATURDAY, 28 FEBRUARY 2015, 12.20 PM

Mega Fam invitees,

Ladies and gentlemen.

1. Good afternoon and welcome to Malaysia. Thank you for accepting our invitation to be here for the celebration of Chinese New Year. Most importantly, this year, we are also celebrating the Malaysia Year of Festivals or MyFest. Hence, it is an exciting time to be here. I believe you’ll have lots of interesting stories to bring back to your respective countries.

2. I hope you enjoyed your Ipoh Heritage Walk this morning and also the unique Ipoh Wall Arts Mural Tour. After lunch, we will bring you to the Felda Residence Hot Springs to relax at its free flowing Hot Springs Swimming Pool and Therapeutic Park.

3. In the evening, we will proceed to the Teluk Intan Leaning Tower for the National Chinese New Year Open House. For your information, the Leaning Tower, which was built in 1885, is our equivalent of the world famous tower of Pisa in Italy. I’ll leave it to you to find out more about its historical background when you reach there later.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

4. Cultural diversity has always been one of Malaysia’s strongest tourism attractions. Our multicultural people make the country an exotic and unique destination to explore and experience. The celebration of Chinese New Year is just one of the many cultural discoveries and festivities taking place in Malaysia throughout the year.

5. As Malaysians, we are famous for being hospitable. We love having friends and relatives of other races and religions to join us in our celebration. Hence, we enjoy holding open houses, where we literally open our doors to all our friends and neighbours and invite them to celebrate our festivities with us.

6. This is not just a norm for Chinese New Year, but also for most major festivals, such as Hari Raya Aidilfitri, Christmas, Deepavali, and Harvest Festival. This practice reinforces the spirit of 1Malaysia and helps foster a better understanding and unity among the multi-racial people of Malaysia.

7. This also goes in line with the MyFest theme of ‘Endless Celebrations’, which focuses on the multicultural aspect of Malaysia that gives rise to its unique charm.

8. Various exciting events will be held every month throughout the year. In March, racing fans will be here for the Formula 1 Petronas Malaysia Grand Prix. We will also be holding the 1Malaysia GP Sale, Le Tour de Langkawi, Putrajaya International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta, and many more.

9. I would like to take this opportunity to ask for your assistance in helping us to promote Malaysia as a top-of-mind holiday destination by showcasing Malaysia in your respective countries and creating more attractive holiday packages for your clients and encouraging them to visit Malaysia.

Ladies and gentlemen,

10. Having said that, let me conclude by thanking all of you again for participating in this Mega Fam Programme. I hope you will have an enjoyable and memorable stay in Malaysia.

11. I would also like to thank all of you for your support in making our tourism industry a success. It is with your hard work and efforts that we are able to make Malaysia a premier tourist destination, and I would like to encourage you to keep up the good work!

12. On that note, I hope you’ll enjoy the rest of the programme today, especially the National Chinese New Year Open House tonight.

Thank you.