Over 100,000 visitors expected to enliven Aidilfitri open house celebration in Terengganu

KUALA TERENGGANU, May 18 (Bernama) -- Over 100,000 visitors are expected to attend the  Malaysian Aidilfitri Open House Celebration (MRTM) which will take place at Dataran Drawbridge here from tomorrow until Saturday.

 State Tourism, Culture and Digital Technology Committee chairman Ariffin Deraman said various activities would be held during the programme to introduce the uniqueness and beauty of Terengganu to people from outside the community.

“Among the activities organised by the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture (MOTAC) agencies  in collaboration with the state government are  'tewah ngail' which is a fishing competition while wearing kain pelikat and a head wrap, rewang raya, people's feast, boat racing competition, keris gathering, beautiful goat contest, poultry pagaent and religious talks.

“There will also be cooking demonstrations and competitions to make ketupat sotong, kuih bunga ros, scrape coconut, squeeze coconut milk and weave ketupat. The highlight will be on Friday night as Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob will be in attendance, “ he told reporters at the Terengganu Tourism Department's Aidilfitri chat session here today.

He said Terengganu was selected to host MRTM, because according to MOTAC, the state is famous and rich in traditions and cultural heritage and this should be introduced to Malaysian Families in the country.

“We are thankful to MOTAC and are confident that this MRTM will be able foster a spirit of unity among the community and further promote Terengganu as a destination for large-scale events that could  attract international tourists to Malaysia.

"We welcome the public to the programmes and MRTM and they will be served with various delicacies and traditional dishes such as nasi dagang, tapai pulut and ketupat palas," he said.

  He said currently the final preparations are being made to ensure that MRTM runs smoothly so that visitors would have an enjoyable time and the people of Terengganu especially the small traders could reap the benefits.

-- BERNAMA