ASEAN, world leaders indulge in satay at gala dinner

After a series of highly-charged meetings, ASEAN leaders and its dialogue partners unwound themselves to a spectacular performance and mouth-watering cuisines at a gala dinner hosted by Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

The leaders all donning colourful Malaysian-designed songket jackets (songket is a fabric that belongs to the brocade family of textiles of Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei) attended the dinner held in conjunction with the 27th ASEAN Summit and Related Summits under Malaysia's 2015 chairmanship of the regional grouping.

Among them were United States President Barack Obama, Sultan of Brunei Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and South Korean President Park Geun-hye.

Besides western delicacies, the dinner also showcased one of Malaysia's signature dish, satay, which was personally chosen by Najib from Raub, Pahang, a state in the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia.

The satay shop located in front of the Raub Hospital, famously known as Pak Harun Satay, was introduced to Najib by the Sultan of Pahang, Sultan Ahmad Shah.

"At a function at the Prime Minister's residence, the Sultan of Pahang brought our satay and since then, the prime minister often ordered the item for events at the Finance Ministry (Najib is also Finance Minister)," the shop's owner, Harun Mat Akhir, 68, told Bernama.

While indulging in the delicious dishes prepared by the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC) culinary team, the honoured guests were entertained to performances from the P. Ramlee era to various cultural shows. The late P. Ramlee was an iconic figure in the Malaysian entertainment scene.

Patriotic songs, 'Tanah Pusaka' and 'Standing In The Eyes Of The World' were played at the beginning of the dinner to the captivated guests.

This was followed by an instrumental music performance of P.Ramlee's masterpieces - Getaran Jiwa, Kwek Mambo, Tiru Macam Saya and Menceceh Bujang Lapok - which were also personally picked by Najib.

The dinner also featured a medley of Malaysian multicultural songs performed by young Malaysian artistes, as well as cultural performances from the 10 countries that make up ASEAN.

Guests were also amused by an 'ala' broadway performance about ASEAN's Dialogue Partners, featuring big names in the industry such as Sean Ghazi and Stephen Rahman Hughes.

The night was further enlivened by a talented group of Permata Seni children with the "Heal The World" song and a wrap up with the "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" song and "One" (ASEAN 2015 theme song) by all 429 performers.

In his brief remarks at the dinner, Najib praised all the leaders for looking splendid in songket jacket specially designed for the ASEAN Summit and Related Summits.

"I think I want to start a new fashion in Malaysia," he said in an upbeat and cheerful mood.

The prime minister also noted that ASEAN not only was relevant for this region, but had also became important to the world.