Malaysian woman among guests at President Trump's inauguration

WASHINGTON: Malaysian Marina Ahmad Mustafa could regard herself lucky to be among the guests at Republican Donald Trump's inauguration as the 45th President of the United States, at Capitol Hill, Washington DC on Friday.
Marina, from Kuala Lumpur, her husband Dr Brad Batchelor and their only daughter Asha, 9, had flown 620km from Charlotte, North Carolina to be present at the swearing-in ceremony.
When contacted by Bernama, Marina said she and her family could attend the presidential inauguration after her husband, a chiropractic specialist, received an invitation to the august ceremony from Congressional Representative from North Carolina, Virginia Foxx.
"We flew to Washington DC on Wednesday as we felt very honoured to receive such an invitation for the first time, and it certainly wouldn't be nice to turn it down," said the Malaysian who earned a bachelor's and master's degree in Economics the University of Missouri, Kansas City.
She said her husband, therefore, had to close his clinic for a while from Thursday while she herself as the clinic's administrative manager, also had to take leave to attend what was a historic occasion for the people of the United States.
Marina said that besides wanting to experience it for the first time, their presence at Trump's presidential inauguration was also to give their daughter, Asha, exposure to the historic occasion.
She said she had been living in the US for 10 years now but had never voted there, as she still holds a Malaysian passport.
Marina, her husband and daughter were designated to the orange area – West Standing – which was only about 150m away from the main building where the swearing-in was held.
Trump took his oath of office as President before US Supreme Court Chief Justice John G. Roberts at 12.05pm (1.05 Malaysia) on Friday, watched by hundreds of thousands of his supporters during the historic handing-over of power.
The 70-year-old billionaire replaced Barack Obama after defeating Democrat presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton in the election on Nov 8.
The Republican leader placed his hand on two Bibles – one belonging to him and the other used by President Abraham Lincoln when taking his oath of office – signaling the start of a new political era filled with joy and fear.
On Trump's maiden presidential speech, Marina regarded it as an 'acceptable speech'.
"In his speech, Trump had touched on patriotism; if all joined hands in the spirit of patriotism, we can eliminate prejudice.
"This is just not for America but for the whole world. When you open your heart to patriotism, there is no room for prejudice.
"I was hoping for more points on unifying people of all races, religions, beliefs and cultures because America is after all a melting-pot nation. Sadly, he (Trump) did not talk more on that," she said.
Marina is also grateful that she and her family could go to the presidential inauguration ceremony and return to their hotel safely despite the violent anti-Trump protests near the venue.
The protesters were reportedly angered by some of Trump's statements, including on Islam, women and minorities. — Bernama