1. Visit Malaysia Year 2014 Grand Launch
Themed “Celebrating 1Malaysia Truly Asia”, Visit Malaysia Year 2014′s grand launch at Dataran Merdeka (Independence Square) in Kuala Lumpur last Saturday was an extravaganza showcase of the country’s cultural diversity.
2. Tourism and Culture Minister Dato' Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz giving a speech
3. Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Dato' Hj. Muhyiddin Yassin officiates Visit Malaysia Year 2014, with Tourism and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz on his right and Dato’ Dr. Ong Hong Peng Secretary General Ministry of Tourism Malaysia on left
Officiated by Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Dato’ Hj. Muhyddin Yassin, Visit Malaysia Year 2014 (VMY2014) is the fourth edition of Visit Malaysia Year campaign; the first was in 1990 with the theme “Fascinating Malaysia. Year of Festivals”.
4. pristine beaches of Malaysia
5. remembering the fallen heroes of the country
Although the grand launching ceremony only started at about 8.30pm, an interesting line-up of exciting programmes kicked off at Dataran Merdeka as early as 10am that morning, including the Fabulous Food Carnival, exhibition booths by Balai Seni Visual, National Museum, Kraftangan Malaysia, Tourism Malaysia, MyPass and IM4U, just to name a few.
6. theme parks in Malaysia
7. icons of Malaysia, old and new: the trishaw passing Petronas Twin Towers with KL Tower on left
Other sub-events were performances by buskers, drumline, street soccer, clowns and stilt-walkers. The mobile 6D simulation attracted considerable attention as well.
8. prominent Malaysian musicians perform fusion numbers
9. acknowledging the country’s monarchy
In his speech, Minister of Tourism & Culture, Dato’ Seri Nazri Aziz urged all Malaysians to come together to make VMY2014 a success, in line with the “We Are The H.O.S.T.” concept, H.O.S.T. being the acronym for Heart, Open, Smile and Together.
10. harmonica champions
11. aboriginal tribes of Malaysia
Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Dato’ Hj. Muhyddin Yassin, on the other hand, outlined Malaysia’s top tourist attractions. Listed as one of the top ten countries to visit in Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel 2014, among other accolades, these bear testimony of Malaysia being a premier tourist destination.
12. cultural dance performance
13. Datuk Jamal Abdillah performs a song
With the proboscis monkey (monyet Belanda) as official mascot for VMY2014, tourist arrivals are targeted to reach a record high of 28 million, generating international tourist receipts of RM76 billion in 2014 alone, through the over 200 exciting events and festivals planned throughout the year. This campaign aims to contribute to the realisation of the Government’s target of receiving 36 million tourist arrivals and RM168 billion in tourist receipts by 2020, as outlined in the Malaysia Tourism Transformation Plan (MTTP) 2020, which is part of the National Key Economic Areas (NKEA).
14. the most beautiful women in the world are Malaysians
15. robotic dance
The Grand Launch of VMY2014 at Dataran Merdeka saw a crowd turn-out of more than 50,000. Once the speeches and other formalities were over, they were entertained with impressive “Building Mapping” presentations on the Sultan Abdul Samad Building, fireworks display and singing performances by top Malaysian artistes, Datuk Jamal Abdillah, Dato’ Siti Nurhaliza and Datuk Khadijah Ibrahim.
16. Dato’ Siti Nurhaliza in her element, singing Cuti Cuti 1Malaysia
17. Datuk Khadijah Ibrahim (in red) delivers a song
The party continued late into the night with more performances by Amy Search, Nash, Awie, Najwa Latif and Azlan & the Typewriter, among others.
18. students from Limkokwing University singing the theme song for Visit Malaysia Year 2014 amidst another burst of colourful fireworks display
Event: Visit Malaysia Year 2014 Grand Launch
Venue: Dataran Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Date: 4th Jan, 2014
Time: 8pm
*media pass for emily2u.com to cover the above event was made possible at the invitation of Gaya Travel Magazine and Tourism Malaysia, with much appreciation.
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