Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said he will continue to persevere in carrying out his duties as the nation's number one leader despite facing various challenges and pressures from within and outside the country.

"There's nothing, all are as usual...I must be 'istiqamah' (committed) to my duties and responsibilities whether as the Pekan Member of Parliament or the Prime Minister to safeguard the interests of nearly 30 million Malaysians," he said.

Najib said this when asked to comment on the various challenges and pressures he faced since lately, including on the issue of 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) which was raised by the United States Department of Justice.

The Prime Minister was met by reporters at his Aidilfitri open house jointly held with wife, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor at Taman Tasik Sultan Abu Bakar here today.

About 50,000 guests of diverse races, including from Terengganu and Kuala Lumpur attended the event which took place from 10.30 am until 3.30 pm.

Also present were the Sultan of Pahang Sultan Ahmad Shah; the Sultanah of Pahang Sultanah Kalsom; the Tengku Mahkota of Pahang Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah; the Tengku Puan of Pahang Tunku Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah and their children.

The event was also attended by Pahang Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Adnan Yaakob; Pekan UMNO Division deputy chief Datuk Abu Bakar Harun and the state government's leadership.

Commenting on the event, Najib said the large turnout of guests at the open house clearly reflected the support of the people towards his leadership.

"Thank you for all the support all of you have shown me over the years. Indeed, my relationship with Pekan voters is very close and good, otherwise they would not have come.

"This open house is also one of my ways to mingle with those with rare opportunity to meet with me," Najib said.

At the event, the guests were served with a variety of mouth-watering dishes including 'nasi arab', roasted lamb, 'puding raja', and 'satay' with 165 stalls serving a wide array of food.

About 3,000 pieces of lemang and 5,000 pieces of ketupat were prepared through gotong-royong by the people in the Pekan parliamentary constituency.

Besides the food, the guests were also entertained to performances by popular local singers such as Datin Alyah, Ameng Spring, Azlan Typewriter.

The guests had also the opportunity to watch a singing performance by Tengku Abdullah with the song 'Butakah Cinta' which was popularised by local rock band Spring.

Tengku Abdullah, who celebrates his 57th birthday today, was also surprised with a cake cutting ceremony with the guests singing a birthday song for him.

At the event, Najib also presented haj items to 100 haj pilgrims from the Pekan parliamentary constituency.
Earlier, Najib attended a closed-door meeting with UMNO Information Technology Bureau at Ancasa Royale Hotel, here.

Najib, who arrived at 10.05am, was greeted by UMNO Information Technology Bureau chairman Datuk Ahmad Maslan and spent about 30 minutes with representatives who attended the retreat.