Raya celebrated in sombre mood in wake of air tragedies

A haze that obscured the sun and pummelled air quality to an unhealthy level in four places today made the mood more sombre.

The federal government and state governments have called off the official Aidilfitri 'open house' as a mark of respect for the victims of the two air disasters, involving Malaysia Airlines (MAS) flights MH370 and MH17.

Flight MH370 dropped off radar on March 8 as it flew from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 227 passengers and 12 crew on board. The Boeing 777 aircraft has yet to be found, even after an exhaustive search in the southern Indian Ocean where it is believed to have gone down after veering off course.

Flight MH17 crashed in eastern Ukraine on July 17 as it was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur with 283 passengers and 15 crew on board. The Boeing 777 aircraft is believed to have been shot down over the troubled country.

The haze reduced air quality to the unhealthy level in four places as at 7 am.

By noon, the air quality had worsened in three other places.

The Air Pollutant Index (API) had gone beyond 100 at noon at Tanjung Malim in Perak (103); Samarahan (104), Sibu (188) and Sri Aman (109) in Sarawak and Kuala Selangor (118), Port Klang (144) and Shah Alam (102) in Selangor.

In PUTRAJAYA, unlike in the previous years, Seri Perdana, the official residence of the prime minister, was quiet without the traditional open house.

Missing were the usual long queues of people of the various communities waiting to exchange greetings with the country's leaders and sample the wide variety of food and traditional cakes.

The scene was similar in the states where the state governments did not hold open house this year.

Calamities and the haze aside, life has to go on. It did, but on a more serious note.

In KUALA LUMPUR, Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah and Raja Permaisuri Agong Tuanku Hajah Aminah granted an audience to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and their wives at the Istana Negara.

Their Majesties, Najib, Muhyiddin and their wives as well as Cabinet ministers attended breakfast at the palace. They also hosted a reception for dignitaries, among them members of the royalty and heads of foreign missions.

Tuanku Abdul Halim and Tuanku Hajah Aminah also attended Aidilfitri prayers at the National Mosque, along with over 14,000 worshippers.

They were joined by Najib, Muhyiddin and their wives, several Cabinet ministers and other dignitaries.

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom, in his sermon, reminded the worshippers of the trying time the nation was going through in the wake of the two air tragedies.

He said the families of the Muslim passengers and crew of the two Boeing 777 aircraft were without their loved ones on this Aidilfitri day.

"It must be pointed out that there are, among us, children who are not able to exchange greetings with their father or mother on this auspicious morning; there are women who miss receiving the blessings of their beloved husbands," he said.

Jamil Khir urged the worshipers to ponder how fortunate they were to be Malaysians, as they were able to observe the fasting month of Ramadan and celebrate Aidilfitri in the country peacefully, unlike fellow Muslims in some other countries, including Palestine.