PENANG: A large crowd, mostly dressed in their baju Melayu and baju kurung, embraced the air of festivity at the Hari Raya open house hosted by Eastern and Oriental (E&O) Berhad at Straits Green, recently.
Joining them to sample the tantalising spread of festive fare were Penang Deputy Chief Minister I Datuk Ahmad Zakiyuddin Abdul Rahman, deputy state secretary (development) Dr Mohamad Farazi Johari, deputy state secretary (management) Datuk Ghazali Derahman, Balik Pulau member of parliament Bakhtiar Wan Chik and Teluk Bahang assemblyman Zolkifly Md Lazim.
To reflect the festive spirit and racial unity, E&O’s senior management and the organising committee members of different ethnic backgrounds also clad themselves in traditional Malay attire as they exchanged greetings with the guests.
Guests were presented with Raya packets containing peanut sweets as a form of blessing in celebration of the end of the holy month of fasting.
E&O government liaison and planning senior general manager Datuk Zawawi Yusop said the open house was among the cornerstones adopted by the group to cultivate harmony and togetherness in the multicultural and multiracial society.
“It truly moves us seeing people from all walks of life gathering under the same roof to celebrate one festivity.
“This is also the time for us to share our abundance and spread blessings to those around us while we extend our appreciation to the local community for being supportive towards activities and events organised by E&O, particularly our Think Green long term community education programme,” he said.
A line-up of traditional dance performances by students of Tadis Ar-Rasyidin and SK Tanjung Tokong was met with overwhelming applause.
The children even had the guests busy capturing their moves on their smartphones. Both these schools are part of E&O’s Think Green CSR Programme.