Over 20,000 people attend Dr Mahathir's Aidilfitri open house

More than 20,000 people attended the Aidilfitri open house of former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and wife Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali at their residence, here, today. Among the VIP guests were Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and his wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, Federal Territories Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Tan Sri Joseph Kurup and Dewan Negara Speaker Tan Sri Abu Zahar Ujang. Although the open house started at 10am, many people arrived earlier to make a beeline to shake hands with Dr Mahathir and his wife who also gave out "duit raya" to the children present. The fine weather added to the cheery atmosphere where the visitors eagerly took the opportunity to take photograghs with the elderly statesman and his wife, besides enjoying the Raya spread that included lemang, ketupat, rendang, kuah kacang, satay and nasi minyak, with Raya songs playing in the background. A shuttle bus service was provided for the visitors to get to Dr Mahathir's residence from where they parked their vehicles and back. Monica Lee, 32, an advertising executive from Shah Alam, said she was so excited to have met Dr Mahathir in person as he was her idol since her secondary school days. "We woke up at 6am to get ready and as we did not want to miss the golden opportunity to meet Tun," said Lee, who came with her husband and their two children, all clad in red baju kurung or baju Melayu. S.Murugiah, 46, a restaurant operator from Melaka, was simply delighted to be able to shake hands and to take a photogragh with Dr Mahathir although it took him three hours to reach here. "I will hang the picture on my house wall for everyone to see," he said, beaming with pride. Adravan Abbas, 26, an Iranian student, said it was the first time he had attended a Raya open house and was impressed with the large turnout of multiracial and multireligious visitors. "I like to see the colourful Raya clothes worn by the people. Malaysian food is also delicious to my taste," said Adravan, who especially likes satay and rendang. Dr Mahathir, meanwhile, apologised to those who did not have the opportunity to shake hands and take photographs with him at his open house.