‘We feel like tourists’: Malaysians throng Kuala Lumpur city centre on first day of Raya

KUALA LUMPUR, May 24, 2020, Malay Mail. It is a norm for foreigners to ‘swarm’ the city centre on the first day of Syawal when Kuala Lumpur folks return to their hometown to celebrate Aidilfitri, Malay Mail reported.

However, the situation is completely different this year when many locals were seen enjoying their Raya at various popular locations such as the Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC), Merdeka Square, Ampang Hill and Bukit Bintang.

A check conducted by Bernama around Kuala Lumpur found that many locals who were not able to return to their hometown following the interstate travel ban chose to fill their time by taking photographs with their families at these locations.

Rohizam Omar, 46, who lives in Subang Jaya said it was quite awkward celebrating Aidilfitri with the new normal, but accepted it as a way to strengthen the family bond.

“All these years we have been busy cooking, entertaining guests and visiting relatives but now we get to be closer to our own family.

“Our focus now is more on entertaining our children. It’s quite fun to fulfill their wish to drive around Kuala Lumpur, although we feel like tourists,” he said.

For Ryan Adzhar, 29, who hails from Limbang, Sarawak, he and his two cousins and a good friend chose to go for outing around the city centre to ease their homesick.

“We have been planning this activity for about three days. Since all of us are still single, we chose to take pictures at KLCC as a memory of celebrating Eid while the country is subject to the conditional movement control order (CMCO),” he said.

Ryan, who has been working in Kuala Lumpur for eight years, said this was his first time celebrating Aidilfitri in the city centre, and added it was better to be ‘stranded’ here compared to the 14-day quarantine if they were allowed to go back to their hometown.

Meanwhile, Zamri Talib, 38, from Hulu Langat, Selangor chose to bring his family for outing in the capital as he understands the feeling of his three children who have been staying indoor for so long to comply with the CMCO.

“We remain in the car and if we wanted to drop by, we will choose uncrowded place. We just want our children to be happy and at the same time we don’t want to risk their safety,” he added.