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The Malaysian community in and around The Hague came together for a warm and muhibbah celebration of Hari Raya Aidilfitri, held on 28 July at the Embassy of Malaysia in The Hague.
This year, the reception was purposefully muted with no festive songs playing in the background nor were the usual decorations put in place as per previous years, in deference to the victims of the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 plane crash that happened hardly ten days prior to the reception. The plane was travelling from Amsterdam en route to Kuala Lumpur when it crashed over eastern Ukraine on 17 June. All lives aboard the plane were lost, with the highest number of casualties coming from the Netherlands.
The Embassy hosted larger than usual crowds during the reception this year, as the Malaysian community was joined by the large presence of the MH17 crisis team from Malaysia, including members from the Ministry of Health, MKN, JAKIM, KAGAT, PDRM as well as a large group of Malaysian press and media.
The collective shock and sadness over the MH17 tragedy was still being felt by the Malaysian community in The Hague, and it is hoped that the opportunity to come together and find comfort in things that reminded of home provided some form of solace. The Hari Raya khutbah and prayers were led by Tuan Haji Abd. Manaf bin Haji Mat, Imam Besar of Putrajaya Mosque, who was in town as part of the MH17 crisis team from Malaysia. |
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