Zaidee collected us at 6pm (or some time around then… Malaysia seems to have a ‘near enough is good enough’ approach to time)and we set off the Prime Minister’s function. Traffic was nuts as usual, but we made it there by 6:30pm and the night began (and the night continued… and continued… and continued until we finally made it to bed at 2:30am)!
There were 50,000 people in attendance, all because of the PM’s visit… how very patriotic! I cannot imagine a turn out that large in Australia to see dear old K. Rudd. Although, maybe 50,000 people would turn up for free food… There were 10 people per table, which means 5,000 tables to set, clear and serve! On a side note, they made an announcement at the start that all vegetarians should make their way to two particular tables… 20 seats out of 50,000 were allocated for vegetarians (obviously it’s not a good idea to go vego here).
And yes, I did say free food. The government funded the entire evening:
50,000 people x 10RM (ringgits) = 500,000RM on food alone. That’s approximately $17,000 for food, not including the chairs, tables, tents and entertainment.
Malaysia is a very multicultural society, with so many different religions, races and cultures co-existing so harmoniously. So far we have seen Chinese, Indian, Dutch, Portuguese and Malay culture present in Melaka and Islamic, Catholic and Hindu religions. The motto of the evening seemed to be Satu Malaysia, meaning One Malaysia. This truly is the impression we have gained so far. Every culture has maintained their own traditions in every possible way, and everyone is so accepting of each other.
The entertainment was endless – from Malaysian pop-singers, to traditional indigenous Malay (which coincidently looked very similar to Australian aboriginal dancing), Indian, Portuguese and Chinese dancing and fireworks, we saw it all. I cannot say the speeches were as fantastic however, as not only did I not understand a word, they went on for a hideously long time.
By 10pm, I was falling asleep but we soldiered on to wait for the lucky draw (which did not conclude until 1am). Zaidee and I had a little nap at the table…
Prizes ranged from river cruise tickets, to whitegoods to motorcycles to a car. My name is not Mohammed and therefore, I did not win anything. Every second name drawn was Mohammed and I am not exaggerating. Zaidee then informed us that all of his sons are called Mohammed something… popular name!
Bed was a welcome sight at the end of night, and Zaidee (very nicely) informed the Head Master that Jess and I would be late for school so we could sleep in, and sleep in we did!
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