THE BEST OF MALAYSIA ON DISPLAY AT THE MELBOURNE MALAYSIA FESTIVAL
Family enjoying the festival – Photo by Lance Vun
Laughter, music and hawker smoke filled the grounds of The Melbourne Malaysia Festival at Queensbridge Square on last Sunday.
The constant shifts of the weather from blustery to wet did not dampen the moods of thousands of eager pedestrians as they participated in, cheered on and admired the melting pot of Malaysian food, song and dance.
The inaugural Festival was held in conjunction with ‘Visit Malaysia Year 2014’ and with the 50th Malaysia Day this year.
Sarawakian Gawai Warrior Dance – Photo by Siok Yee Tan
Malaysian foreign minister Datuk Sri Anifah Aman was one of the VIPs present at the event along with the Malaysian Consul General, Dato’ Dr Rameez Yahaya.
The foreign minister opened the ceremony by expressing his and every Malaysian’s love for their country.
“In the end, no one knows and loves Malaysia more than Malaysians,” he said.
He also praised and encouraged Malaysian students currently studying in Melbourne.
“Each and every student here is an ambassador of Malaysia,” Datuk Seri Anifah Aman said. “When they return to their country, they will become great leaders.”
The opening ceremony was started with a traditional Malay Kompang and a Chinese Lion dance, followed by Gamelan and Silat performances and a Sarawakian Gawai Warrior dance, with the performer brought in from East Malaysia.
The next event was the Durian Eating Competition, where tough couples battled it out to find out who could consume durians the fastest.
The first round ended in a draw, with both Mr Lim and Mrs Lim and Mr Mariappan and Mrs Kalaiyani finishing their durians at the same time.
The second round proved less decisive, with Mr and Mrs Kwan both emerged smiling and victorious.
“It’s very good fun, and we enjoyed it very much,” Mr Kwan said.
The Durian Eating Competition was a messy affair – Photo by Siok Yee Tan
Durian eating competition. Photo by Siok Yee Tan
The performances such as the singing and dancing by the Peranakan Association Australia, Punjabi and Bollywood dances, proved to be a crowd favourite and motivated the audience to start dancing themselves.
All the while, the various stalls selling Malaysian delicacies received plenty of attention from festival goers with the satay, char kuay teow and sardine puffs being just some of the crowd favourites.
Satay was a crowd favourite – Photo by Bei Xian Koh
Contestants trying their hand at making roti canai – Photo by Josh Yu
Attendees later had the chance to learn to make their own roti canai in the roti canai making competition.
At dusk, several candles were lit up to celebrate Deepavali, the Festival of Lights. The day was then finished off with musical performances by local bands featuring talented Malaysian artists.
The Melbourne Malaysian festival was sponsored by Tourism Malaysia and a number of businesses, and was organised by JOM Media that publishes JOM Magazine. The Consul General of Malaysia, Dato’ Dr. Rameez Yahaya was the patron who had assisted in various ways including sponsoring the durian eating competition.
Most of the proceeds from the event will go to InspireSEA – a programme dedicated to helping underprivileged students in Malaysia.
Veterans who served in Malaya and Borneo attended the festival as part of displaying the relationship between Australia and Malaysia. Photo by Lance Vun
Food and beverages stalls – Photo by Lance Vun
The Punjabi Dancers were particularly popular – Photo by Lance Vun
Chinese Dance by the KITA Dance Group – Photo by Lance Vun
Performers from the Peranakan Association Australia at the Festival – Photo by Siok Yee Tan
