[Malaysia Report] Penang tourism fair on the way

Penang MATTA Fair 2013 second season on the way!

The second season of the Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agent (MATTA) Fair 2013 will be held from 5 July to 7 July at the Penang Times Square from 10am to 9pm, according to Bernama Online. The three-day MATTA fair will be free for all visitors. The chairman of the organizer Jeffri Sulaiman said July is the perfect time to organize this event as the school summer holiday is around the corner. It gives parents a good opportunity to plan their family vacation and get good travel package deals.

MATTA Penang organizing chairman Jeffri Sulaiman (left) and MATTA Penang Chapter Chairman Johari Shafie posing with the promotional bunting for upcoming Penang MATTA Fair in July (Photo: The Star Online)

Sulaiman said that the fair will have 190 exhibition booths, comprising of travel agents, tour operators, airlines, hotels and resorts, theme park operators and national tourism organizations from a number of countries taking part in this three-day event.  He also said they set to attract about 90,000 visitors to the fair after the first season of Penang MATTA Fair in April attracted about 43,000 visitors.

Wesak Day Celebration 2013

Wesak Day also known as ‘Buddha’s Birthday’ is a national public holiday in Malaysia. Wesak Day marks the three major events in Buddha’s life, namely his birth, his enlightenment and his achievements of Nirvana. The exact date of Wesak Day celebration is different with Wesak Day in Korea, Japan and China because lunar calendars are used in different traditions to determine the date. Every year in Malaysia, the Malaysian Buddhist Association in different states will organize ‘bathing’ the Buddha events and thousands of ardent devotees will queue patiently to take turns to bathe the Buddha statue, which is very special ritual that represents the purification and cleansing of one’s soul, as well as light up the lotus-shaped candles to seek for Buddha’s blessings.

The theme for this year’s celebration on May 24 was ‘purity’ with the highlight of metta (loving and caring) mediation conducted the day before Wesak Day.  Lighting up of candles, Wesak Day pooja (prayers) as well as blood and organ donation drives were some of the programmes held on Wesak Day.

Temple maiden Wesak Day Celebration: A series of activities lined up on Wesak Day at Samadhi Vihara in Shah Alam (Photo: The Star Online)

K-Pop superstar Live World Tour “Catch Me,” TVXQ in Shah Alam

According to Sinchew Online (May 19), K-Pop, TVXQ ( U Know Yunho and Max Chang,) the biggest alternative Korean pop band in Asia, returned to Malaysia’s stage after an absence of 6 years. However, their stay in Malaysia was only 24 hours with a tight schedule. The concert lasted almost 3 hours with excellent performances, helping TVXQ’s legacy to live on as the two boys continue their record breaking streak, filling out arenas throughout the globe with their new world tour “TVXQ! LIVE WORLD TOUR CATCH ME.”  This performance marked TVXQ’s third appearance in Malaysia since the band was formed in 2003. Therefore, fans were very excited about this concert. JPM Music invested more than RM1.5mil in the specially-designed stage for the electrifying experience at TVXQ! “Catch Me” Live World Tour concert. The layout of the stage and audience seating was designed to allow for the greatest number of fans to feel close to Max and U-Know during the concert.

The glamour of Max and U-Know singing and dancing in the concert (Photo: Sinchew Online)

<Compiled by Leong Hong Sim from Malaysia’s news reports>