WELCOMING ADDRESS

SALAM 1Malaysia to everyone. I bid you a warm welcome to Fiesta Malaysia, The Cultural Extravaganza that will start off on 25 May 2014. This is but a glimpse into our way of life, opening our doors to welcome you into our home to share our food, our culture and our stories. 

I am extremely proud to be the patron of this year Fiesta Malaysia. As well as pledging our support, the Consulate General of Malaysia has been working in close collaboration with the Malaysian Students’ Council of Australia- Victorian Chapter (MASCA-Victoria) to invite partners and sponsors for this event among others Tourism Malaysia, Multicultural Arts Victoria, the Victorian Multicultural Commission and other corporate partners.

On behalf of the government of Malaysia, I would like to congratulate the organisers of Fiesta Malaysia 2014, especially to all the young Puteras and Puteris of Malaysia who have done us very proud. It is so heart-warming to witness such national pride in action. We are 1 Malaysia; a unity of minds and hearts, joining hands to share the toil and spoils, walking and 

learning

 together and encouraging each other as we move forward to become a high income developed nation by 2020. Thank you to Lim Siew Chee and Raymond Loh from MASCA-Victoria and their team of young leaders. Truly, a job well done!

For those of you who do not yet know, MASCA Victoria is the state-level representative council of elected representatives of over 8,000 Malaysian students in the state of Victoria. They are a non-profit organisation run by students, for students. They even claim to have invented the flying resume! What is that, you may ask; I will leave it to them to explain.

The government of Malaysia is a friendly government and we appreciate the efforts of our young citizen in showcasing the best of Malaysia to the world. We encourage our young ambassadors, for truly they are our ambassadors, for their initiatives to engage the community around them through their word and actions. Malaysia boasts a multicultural society and understands the importance of integration amongst different cultures. There is no clearer evidence of this than what you see before you; our young leaders working together towards a common goal of 1 Malaysia. We applaud you and look forward to your contributions to the country in the not so distant future.

There is much to be enjoyed during Fiesta Malaysia, for the best way to experience our Malaysian culture is through the food that we eat and the people that we meet.