ON 29 JANUARY 2012 WHICH ALSO HAPPENED TO BE 'EVERYBODY'S BIRTHDAY' AS IT WAS THE 7TH DAY OF CHINESE NEW YEAR, TYCOON TAN SRI DATUK WIRA DR JASON GOH TECK CHAI HOSTED A HISTORIC CHINESE NEW YEAR THAT HAS ENTERED HISTORY.
NEVER BEFORE HAD A CHINESE NEW YEAR PARTY HOSTED BY A PRIVATE INDIVIDUAL BEEN GRACED BY BOTH REIGNING KING AND FORMER KING OF MALAYSIA!
Not only that, also present were the reigning Queen of Malaysia and 2 former Queens of Malaysia!
Plus of course, members of high royalty, movers and shakers of KL and the creme de la creme of Malaysia. Truly a Hi-So Soiree! By the way, the term 'Hi-So' is my own new creation which stands for 'High-Society'!
I of course glittered like a Xmas tree with dragon jewellery and received endless compliments throughout the night. Hilton Kuala Lumpur at Sentral had never seen such a momentous event of epic proportions and stunned, speechless hotel guests got more than their room rates as they stood, gawked and photographed the red carpet trod on by a record number of Sultans, Sultanahs and high royalty.
Host with the most Tan sri Datuk Wira Dr Jason Goh Teck Chai welcoming His Majesty the King of Malaysia who arrived in a Maybach
Alexander, son of Tan Sri Jason is one lucky kid as he got to greet the King of Malaysia but I was allowed to stand 1 metre away from the Yang DiPertuan Agong XIV to take this close-up photo
Her Majesty the Queen of Malaysia being welcomed by Tan Sri Jason Goh
A floral bouquet from Puan Sri Pernile Goh to Her Majesty the Queen of Malaysia who smiled at me as we met just 2 days earlier at Tracy Ong's mansion
Brother of Sultan Selangor Tengku Panglima DiRaja Selangor Tengku Sulaiman Shah greeting Her Majesty
Their Majesties the King and Queen of Malaysia entering the lobby of KL Hilton
Tan Sri Jason Goh accompanied His Majesty the King of Malaysia and Puan Sri Pernile Goh accompanied Her Majesty the Queen of Malaysia Tuanku Haminah
Red was the favoured colour of the night
Arrival of former King of Malaysia, the Raja of Perlis
Arrival of former Queen of Malaysia, the Raja Perempuan of Perlis
Arrival of former Queen of Malaysia Sultanah Nur Zahirah of Trengganu
Sultanah Trengganu wore jade bangle from Elegance Club at Bangsar Shopping Centre and her crimson dress was the most beautiful
Victoria Goh had the great honour of shaking hands with the former Queen of Malaysia, Sultanah Trengganu
Smiles all round on this auspicious night
The din from the lion troupe drowned what Tan Sri Jason Goh was saying to HRH Sultanah Trengganu
Tan Sri Jason Goh welcoming the Raja Puan Muda of Perak Raja Mahani Raja Shahar
The Raja Puan Muda of Perak being welcomed by 2 golden lions
The Raja Puan Muda of Perak giving angpow to the lion as a palace staff held the tray on bended knees
Wan, uncle of Tan Sri Jason Goh, Kee Hua Chee in dragon costume and bling and Tengku Panglima DiRaja Selangor Tengku Sulaiman Shah Sultan Salahuddin Shah
Former Queen kissing reigning Queen
Tan Sri Jason Goh and Puan Sri Pernile Goh sembah their Majesties before taking their seat
Inside the holding room
Inside the holding room
Puan Sri Putih, God of Wealth and Tan Sri Azumi Mohammad
Colour, costume and cash as this was the God of Wealth!
More 'ong' or luck with the 2 lions!
As pr royal Malay tradition, Tan Sri Azumi Mohammad as de facto Grand Chamberlain went down on his knees to ask permission and beseech the King and Queen and fellow Ruler and royal consorts to assemble for a portrait
Permission granted!
Tan Sri Jason Goh, his mother Madam Pang Kar Gi, HRH Raja Perempuan Perlis, HRH Raja Perlis, His Majesty the King of Malaysia, Her Majesty the Queen of Malaysia, HRH Sultanah Trengganu, Raja Puan Muda Perak, Minister of Tourism Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen and Puan Sri Pernile Goh
Reigning King, former King, reigning Queen, 2 former Queens, Raja Puan Muda Perak, Minister of Tourism, Tan Sri and Puan Sri Jason Goh
Tan Sri Jason Goh accompanying His Majesty to the ballroom
Tan Sri Jason Goh and the King of Malaysia with the Queen of Malaysia and Puan Sri Pernile Goh
Tan Sri Jason Goh listening to His Majesty the King of Malaysia
His Majesty the King of Malaysia being greeted inside KL Hilton Ballroom
Former Queen of Malaysia the Raja Perempuan Perlis
Taking their seats in the Queen's Table
King's Table
King's Table with Tan Sri Jason Goh, His Majesty the King of Malaysia, HRH Raja Perlis and YTM Tengku Sulaiman Sultan Salahuddin Shah
The Queen's Table; I had to run from King's Table to Queen's Table!
Puan Sri Pernile with former Queen the Sultanah of Trengganu, Her Majesty the Queen, former Queen the Raja Perempuan of Perlis and Raja Puan Muda of Perak
Back I ran to the King's Table as no photos were allowed during the meal
The Chinese New Year dinner hosted by Tan Sri Datuk Wira Dr Jason Goh Teck Chai was a magnificent gala of historic proportions. Leading the 350 guests in ushering in the Year of the Black Water Dragon were their Majesties the King and Queen of Malaysia, Seri Paduka Baginda Yang DiPertuan Agong XIV Almu’tasi Billahi Muhibbuddin Tuanku Alhaj Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah Ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Badlishah and Seri Paduka Baginda Raja Permaisuri Agong Tuanku Hajah Haminah.
Not only were the reigning King and Queen in attendance, also present were a former King and 2 former Queens! The 12th King of Malaysia who reigned from 2001 to 2006 and 7th Raja Perlis Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin ibni Tuanku Syed Jamalullail arrived with Raja Perempuan Perlis Tuanku Fauziah Tengku Abdul Rashid.
The 13th King of Malaysia and 17th Sultan of Trengganu, Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin was unable to attend due to an equestrian event in Trengganu but Sultanah Nur Zahirah came with her children. Sultanah Zahirah of Trengganu was the 13th Queen of Malaysia who reigned from 2006 till December 2011.If only the Sultan of Trengganu had attended, the record would be even more spectacular as there would be reigning King and 2 preceding Kings as the Sultan of Trengganu was the immediate previous King while the Raja of Perlis was the one before!
Then there would have been 1 King and 2 former Kings and 1 Queen and 2 former Queens and I would have passed out from such a glorious sight!
In accordance with protocol, the first royal to arrive was Raja Puan Muda Perak Raja Nor Mahani Raja Shahar followed by Sultanah Nur Zahirah of Trengganu, the Raja and Raja Perempuan of Perlis and His Majesty the King and Her Majesty the Queen of Malaysia who came in a grand Maybach. Each royal personage arrived at 15 minutes interval like clockwork, allowing the first and earlier arrival enough time to be officially greeted, welcomed and escorted to the Royal Holding Room.
Naturally the order of precedence begun with the 'lowest' and concluded with the arrival of His Majesty the King of Malaysia and Her Majesty the Queen of Malaysia! I arrived around 7pm while the royals started arriving around 8.15pm.
Tan Sri Jason Goh, his Danish wife Puan Sri Pernile Villadsen-Goh and children Alex and Victoria greeted their royal guests as they emerged from their limousines. A pair of golden lions were also on hand to greet the royals rapturously. The Raja Puan Muda Perak and Sultanah Trengganu even ‘fed’ the beasts with angpows.
Other VIPs included Tengku Sulaiman Shah Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah the brother of the Sultan of Selangor and his sister Tengku Puteri Zahariah aka Ku Yah, Tengku Zatashah the daughter of the Sultan of Selangor and French husband Aubrey Rahim Mennesson, Raja Zarina Raja Zainal, Tan Sri Azumi Mohamad, Puan Sri Che Putih and Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen the Minister of Tourism. A special guest was Tan Sri Jason’s personal guru, Swami Reshe Raj who flew in from Uttar Pradesh, India earlier in the morning.
Acting as Grand Chamberlain, Tan Sri Azumi Mohamad went down on his knees before His Majesty the King of Malaysia, Her Majesty the Queen of Malaysia, HRH Raja Perlis, HRH Raja Perempuan Perlis, HRH Sultanah Trengganu and HH Raja Puan Muda Perak to ask royal permission for an official portrait with Tan Sri and Puan Sri Jason Goh and his mother Madam Pang Kan Gi.
The Danish community in Malaysia were naturally well represented, headed by Soren Ravn, boss of Carlsberg Malaysia. The business and social elite of Kuala Lumpur turned up in full force, with many wearing red Chinese costumes emblazoned with coiling dragons.
There were two Royal Tables, one headed by Seri Paduka Baginda Yang DiPertuan Agong and the other by Seri Paduka Baginda Permaisuri Agong. The King and Queen initiated the festivities by tossing the ‘yee sang’ at separate tables on the dancefloor with the Queen energetically raising the ingredients the highest!
Lion dancers entertained the guests while Chinese and Malay singers like Lai Ping Seah and Celina Gan warbled traditional festive numbers.
Tan Sri Jason Goh was allowed to present gifts to His Majesty the King of Malaysia and Raja Perlis while Puan Sri Pernile Villadsen-Goh was given consent to offer presents to Her Majesty the Queen of Malaysia, HRH Sultanah Trengganu, HH Raja Puan Muda Perak and HRH Raja Perempuan Perlis who reciprocated by giving Puan Sri Pernile not one but two gifts in royal wrapping.
Meticulous attention to detail was everywhere, from the stunning cherry blossom tree at the entrance, giant golden ingot table centrepiece, sumptuous cuisine, wandering God of Wealth all the way to 7 sexy blonde Russian models in Chinese cheongsam acting as ushers!
The 29 January royal repast must have entered history as the first Chinese New Year dinner with reigning King, former King, reigning Queen, 2 former Queens and an extraordinary number of royals. On top of that, it was on the 7th day of Chinese New Year which was ‘Everybody’s Birthday’!
If you need to know what we fed on, the menu started with salmon yee sang, sharkfin with aloe vera, scallop and seamoss, steamed pomfret, roast chicken, stewed scallops, fried rice with seafood and ginger syrup with dumplings.
The evening concluded with the Queen, former Queens, royal ladies, VIPs and Minister of Tourism Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen taking to the dance floor to dance the popular 'poco poco'. For some bizarre reason, I was not allowed to take photographs which is beyond my earthly comprehension as there was nothing wrongly or scandalous. Tengku Zahariah, sister of Sultan Selangor aka Ku Yah had earlier asked me to dance with her but I politely declined as this dance was decidedly for the ladies and I did not want to cause a fracas...
HAPPY NEW DRAGON YEAR!
THE END
No comments:
Post a Comment