THE FIESTA RAYA LAUNCHING CEREMONY
SPEECH BY THE CHIEF MINISTER OF PENANG YAB TUAN CHOW KON YEOW FOR THE FIESTA RAYA LAUNCHING CEREMONY AT 1st AVENUE MALL
18 April 2021
Y.B. Yeoh Soon Hin
Penang Tourism & Creative Economy Committee Chairman
Y.B. Teh Lai Heng
Komtar Assemblyman
Mr. Mohd Junaidi Bin Raziqin
Deputy State Director of FAMA Penang State
Mr. Ahmad Zuhairi Bin Ismail
Chief Executive Officer of PDC Setia Urus
Mr Yeap Chin Chong
General Manager Of 1st Avenue Penang
Good afternoon to all of you.
Allow me to first express my sincere appreciation for the invitation extended to me to be the Guest of Honour to officiate the launching ceremony for the 1st Avenue Penang Fiesta Raya campaign. In this festive season, the ‘Fiesta Raya’ campaign organized by 1st Avenue Penang has various redemption campaign to help tenants and retailers boost their sales by attracting the shoppers to spend more.
It is interesting to note that the management of 1st Avenue have also collaborated with the Federal Agricultural Marketing Association (FAMA) in bringing in local entrepreneurs to sell local products such as Raya cookies, ketupat, rendang and other Raya delicacies within your premises.
This is indeed a very timely and welcoming approach which I am very pleased of because through this campaign, the mall not only helps the retailers but also lends a much-needed helping hand to our small entrepreneurs by providing them with the opportunity and space for doing businesses in the mall during this Ramadan season.
And I must say that it is the combined efforts of everyone to generate economic activities in spite of the challenging times right now which will help us in our post Covid-19 recovery. With the National Covid-19 Immunization Programme now being carried out in stages, we are making steps towards our health and economic recovery and in time, the adverse conditions now facing us will be over.
To add to the festive mood of the season, I was told that there will also be Raya activities and interesting workshops on weekends which will feature ‘Gamelan Music’ performances, ‘Raya Cupcake’ Decorations Workshop and other cultural-themed attractions. While many of us Malaysians will not be unfamiliar with the cultural traditions of oneself as well as others, these programmes are also exciting in a way that they serve as a reminder to the younger ones among us on the importance of our cultural traditions and the need to embrace differences in a multicultural society.
More importantly, this helps in fostering the spirit of togetherness among each and every one of us to overcome our immediate and distant challenges ahead of us; our national health and economic recovery in the post Covid-19 era and achieving our Penang2030 vision in the long run.
On a final note, I would like to once again thank all parties who have contributed towards the success of this ‘Fiesta Raya’ campaign and for the support to our malls and stakeholders in the retail industry. All of these combined efforts and support go a long way in helping our economic recovery but at the same time, let’s not forget to follow the SOPs in the New Normal circumstances, social distancing and to stay safe right now!
Thank you.