The Embassy of Malaysia joined eight other embassies in The Hague in commemorating the 2017 International Mother Language Day celebration hosted by the Embassy of Bangladesh at Paleiskerk, The Hague on 25 February 2017. The event was to promote worldwide awareness on linguistic and cultural diversity. International Mother Language Day was formally recognised by the United Nations General Assembly since 2008 and recognised the event as the International Year of Languages.
The programme started with lay of wreath ceremony, followed by a short story telling presentation by group of children from the Embassy of Bangladesh. H.E. Sheikh Bilal, Ambassador of Bangladesh delivered his opening remarks, followed by short remarks by four other ambassadors including by H.E. Dato’ Ahmad Nazri Yusof, Ambassador of Malaysia.
There were 10 performances throughout the event including from Indonesia, Thailand, Nepal, Viet Nam and The Netherlands. Malaysian Embassy was represented by Ms. Shafaatusaara Silahudin from Leiden University, and Mr. Ahmad Hosni Mobara, from Delft. Mr. Hosni recited a poem titled “Kembara Negaraku” while Ms. Shafaatussara sang one traditional Malay song titled “Syair Rakis”.