Celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the National Day in Guangzhou, China
On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the National Day of Malaysia, an official reception was held on Friday, 31 August 2007 at the Guangzhou Ballroom, Shangri-La hotel, Guangzhou. The Consul General Mr. Roslan Abdul Rahman and Mdm. Radiah Malkan-Roslan received all the guests at the entrance of the Guangzhou Ballroom, Shangri-La hotel. Invited guests included local important government officials, respected communist party members/politicians and prominent Malaysians from the business community, Malaysian Associations and Malaysian student leaders. Among the VIP’s present were HE Mr. Li Ronggen, the Vice Governor of Guangdong Province, who represented the Chinese Government and was the Guest of Honor together with the Vice Mayor of Guangzhou, HE Mr. Chen Mingde. Other VIP’s included senior officials of the Guangdong, Hainan, Hunan, Jiangxi and Fujian provincial and local People’s Governments. The Malaysians who attended were mostly businessmen from the areas of Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Dongguan, Foshan, Shunde, Panyu, Yun Fu, Zhuhai and Zhongshan City. Amongst the prominent Malaysian that attended were Dato’ Koo Yuen Kim, Chairman of Zhongshan Perfect Co. Ltd. based in Zhongshan and Deputy President of the Malaysia-China Friendship Association; Mdm. Cynthia Lim, Executive Vice President of the ZIC Group based in Zhuhai; Mr. Clement Ooi Inn Hoe, CEO/GM of Petronas Marketing (China) Co. Ltd. and Mr. Choo Shin Jann, President of the Malaysian Association in Guangdong. The reception was reflective of the true Malaysian environment with Malaysian officials dressed in the National costume and other Malaysians present donned their batiks, kebayas and songkets. The Malaysian food served included an array of Malay cakes and Malaysian traditional cuisines. The presence of Malaysians, the décor and food truly reflected the Merdeka spirit. The ceremony began with the National Anthem “Negara-ku,” followed by the Chinese National Anthem. The Consul-General then delivered his welcoming speech which he highlighted the dynamic relations between Malaysia and China, as well as, the good economic and trade links between the two countries, in particular, the Guangdong Province and southern China. The Official ceremony ended with a high spirited “MERDEKA” followed by a toast to the host country’s President and people and to Seri Paduka Baginda Yang DiPertuan Agong and Rakyat Malaysia. This was followed by a buffet dinner. While the guests were having dinner, they were entertained by a Malaysian cultural show performed by the Cultural Troupe from Sabah sponsored by Tourism Malaysia, Guangzhou in collaboration with the Consulate General’s Office. The dancers consisted of 21 Malaysians and a chorographer. One of their performance was the lively ‘Malaysia Truly Asia” and “di Ambang Merdeka”
