On the first day of Aidilfitri today, most Muslims in Sabah celebrate the festival with family and relatives, in addition to house-to-house visits.
Earlier today, Sabah Yang di-Pertua Negeri Tun Juhar Mahiruddin with his wife Toh Puan Norlidah RM Jasni and Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor performed Aidilfitri prayers with more than 5,000 Muslims at the State Mosque here.
Similar to previous years, one of the open houses that the multiracial Sabahans are looking forward to is the Sabah government's Aidilfitri open house which will be held at the Sabah International Convention Centre (SICC) this Sunday (April 14), from 10 am to 2 pm.
More than 20,000 guests are expected to attend and apart from that they will be served a variety of delicious dishes, they will also be entertained by the performances by guest artistes.
Sabah will also hold a MADANI Government open house, in collaboration with the National Unity Ministry, on April 20.
"The Sabah government's Aidilfitri open house is the open house I've been waiting for... every year my wife and three children would attend the special do.
"I know the traffic would be very busy and my family would come early to get a nice parking spot," said civil servant Raymond Gilab, 45.
He said the presence of thousands of guests will make the event more lively.
"We can eat to our heart's content and among the thousands of guests present there must be someone we know and we will have the opportunity to say hello," he added.
An employee of Kota Kinabalu City Hall, Norbert Jadi, 55, said that every year he and his colleagues would be assigned to ensure adequate cutlery during the open house.
"While working, we can both feel the excitement of the celebration and I hope that the people present can look after of cleanliness...dispose of garbage in the places that have been prepared," he said.
-- BERNAMA
