Doha, Qatar: In conjunction with the 50th Anniversary of bilateral relations between Malaysia and Qatar, the Embassy of Malaysia in Qatar recently organised a “Malaysia Truly Asia” Hi-Tea.
The event was held with the support and cooperation from the Malaysian community in Qatar. Malaysia Truly Asia is a tagline that represents the essence of the country’s unique and rich diversity, which sums up the distinctiveness and allure of Malaysia that make it an exceptional tourist destination where all the colours, flavours, sounds and sights of Asia come together.
The event aims to introduce and promote the cultural diversity of Malaysia namely from the aspect of performing arts through music and dance, traditional cuisines, traditional games as well as traditional costumes and fabrics.
Malaysia is a multiethnic and multicultural country with diverse demography consists of several ethnicities.
Half of the population is made up of Malays, while the other half consists of descendants of Chinese, Indian, Aboriginal background, as well as other indigenous people. Malaysia offers exciting diversity of cultures, festivals, traditions and customs.
During the event, guests were presented with cultural performance of arts through kompang and traditional cultural dances. Kompang is classified under the percussion group of musical instruments and is the most popular traditional music instrument among the Malay community.
The Joget Dance is a traditional Malay dance that originated in Malacca in the colonial era. It was influenced by the Portuguese dance of Branyo which is believed to have been spread to Malacca during the spice trade.
KudaKepang Dance is especially famous in Johor. The dancers use horse dummies made of woven bamboo and without legs, just the bodies, heads and tails only.In the past, both song and Inangdance were taught to the Inang of the palace (“singer dancers”) for them to perform it during royal functions.
The event offered a different experience for the guests as they are allowed to have hands on experience on various activities such as hands-on activity of colouring batik. The Malaysian batik is a batik textile art in Malaysia, especially on the east coast of Malaysia (Kelantan, Terengganu and Pahang).
Apart from that, guests could learn about traditional games consist of various types of games for children and adults that are practiced by previous generations. Congkak is one of the traditional games believed to be brought into the Malay archipelago via India. Congkak is well-known in the state of Kedah, Kelantan and Johor. Batu Seremban is well-known in Kedah, Selangor, Kelantan and Johor.
Malaysia is popular as a ‘Food Paradise’ where everyone can taste a diversity of delectable food at reasonable prices. Be it Malay, Chinese, or Indian cuisine, Malaysia is home to a distinctive palette and a tapestry of flavours.
Ambassador of Malaysia to Qatar, H E Zamshari Shaharan, explained that the event is organised in line with the aspiration from the Government for the synergies between the Malaysian community in Qatar with the Embassy in promoting Malaysia in the eyes of the world. He also extended appreciation to the Malaysian community which had worked together with the Embassy to ensure the success of the event. The envoy said that the event was also to kick-off the next “Visit Malaysia Year” in 2025 as announced by the Prime Minister of Malaysia. This campaign targets to welcome 23.5 million international arrival with revenue generated amounting to RM76.8bn.
