The 51st National Day reception in Manila, Republic of the Philippines was held at Shangri-La Makati Hotel on Thursday, 4 September 2008. Approximately 500 guests came to the National Day reception. Among the invitees who graced the momentous event were the Honourable Secretary Alberto G. Romulo, Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, Secretary Jesus Dureza, Presidential Peace Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr., Chief of Staff General Yano, Governor Joel T. Reyes of Palawan, Mayor Alfredo Lim of Manila, Ambassadors and representatives from all the foreign Missions in Manila, Philippines’ high officials, local and Malaysian businessmen and members of the media.
The event started off with a speech from H.E Ambassador Dato’ Ahmad Rasidi Hazizi followed by a toast and the Philippines’ national anthem. In his speech, H.E Dato’ Ambassador highlighted on Malaysia’s achievements on the economic front and our aspiration to become a developed country by 2020. He also touched on the bilateral cooperation between Malaysia and the Republic of the Philippines in the fields of trade, investment, transportation, education, human resource development, information, consular and security matters. He mentioned that it has been especially pertinent for both countries to strengthen bilateral cooperation in order to circumvent the brunt of the global challenges including the food and fuel crisis which had affected most countries. Next, the Honourable Secretary Romulo gave a brief speech where he congratulated Malaysia for its 51st National Day and praised the aptly chosen theme for this year - “Unity is the Core of Success”. He highlighted on the two countries common history, culture and heritage which help to cement the foundation for the various bilateral cooperation between Malaysia and the Republic of the Philippines. He also thanked Malaysia for its involvement and assistance in ensuring peace in the Southern Philippines. He ended his speech with a toast and followed by Malaysia’s national anthem.
After the speeches, H.E Dato’ Ambassador with his wife, Datin Rosilawati Abd. Raffar accompanied the Honourable Secretary Romulo and Madame Romulo for the cutting of cake ceremony. Afterwards, all of the guests were invited to sample the various authentic Malaysian cuisines prepared for the event. In order to ensure the authenticity of the cuisines served, the Embassy had sought the assistance of a Malaysian Chef based in Manila to oversee the food preparation. Among the Malaysian cuisines served are laksa lemak, sate with spicy peanut sauce, char kuey tiaw, hainanese chicken rice, roti canai with dhall, stuffed tofu, air batu campur and assorted Malaysian cakes.
In order to entertain the guests and to show them a glimpse of the exuberant Malaysian experience, the Embassy with the cooperation of Tourism Malaysia had flown in professional traditional dancers from Sabah, Malaysia. The guests were enthralled with their eclectic dance performance which combined the various elements of multi-racial, multi-cultural society of Malaysia that depicts the spirit of harmony, happiness and unity which is the core of Malaysia’s success as a nation. Their last performance was joget and the dancers invited and taught the guests to dance. It was clear that the guests were very happy and as token of appreciation they were given a beaded Sabahan ethnic necklaces for mementoes. At the end of the event, each of the guests were given Malaysian tourism brochures as part of the Embassy’s effort to promote Malaysia as a premier tourism destination in the world.
Despite the fact that it was held in the fasting month, the Embassy’s staff had worked tirelessly to ensure that everything goes on smoothly. Indeed, this year National Day celebration was a success based on the number of guests who attended the said event and their enthusiastic response to our event. Many of them mentioned that the National Day of Malaysia is a benchmark for other countries’ National Day. They looked forward to our National Day reception because it usually has the best authentic food and entertainment. Apart from celebrating the Independence Anniversary of our nation, the National Day reception is also an important means to promote Malaysia as a stable and prosperous nation. This will help to attract tourists and foreign investments to Malaysia.
