Malaysian Chinese community celebrate Lunar New Year in New York

NEW YORK: The Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) USA, in conjunction with the Malaysian Association of America (MAA) organised a colourful celebration to usher in the Chinese Lunar New Year – the Year of the Rooster – with families and friends on Sunday night at the Mudon Banquet Hall in the Flushing district of New York.
Flushing has become synonymous with the large-scale presence of Chinese in New York and is often referred to as the city's "second Chinatown", the first one being in the city's downtown area.
Malaysians on the east coast turned out at the event to greet each other and also meet with the newly arrived Malaysian ambassador the United States, Tan Sri Zulhasnan Rafique, a former Federal Territories Minister.
Zulhasnan had come all the way from Washington DC, along with his wife, to meet the Malaysian community and was the chief guest at the Lunar New Year celebrations in Flushing.
As the evening's most prominent guest, he was also invited to participate in the ceremonious opening of the event which was followed by the gala dinner for which the Mudan Banquet Hall has become famous.
John Liu, a former comptroller of New York City was also among the high-profiled guests at the event. Liu has been interacting with the Malaysian community since many years and is a familiar face at Malaysian Chinese gatherings in New York.
Also present at the event were Jeremiah Oliver Jitos, Malaysian consul general in New York, Kennedy Mayung Onon, Malaysia's deputy permanent representative to the UN, as well as heads of a number of Malaysian government agencies such as Mida, Matrade and Tourism Malaysia which have offices in New York.
Katie Wong, a Chinese community representative who works closely with Senator Martin J. Golden of the 22nd Senate District, greeted the large Malaysian turnout, led by Kim Bong, who is considered to be the driving force organising the Malaysian community, Sam Chin, President of the Malaysian Association of America, and other leaders.
The event, which kicked off with the mandatory Chinese lion dance that characterises Lunar New Year celebrations, assumed a colourful appearance: the participating men, women and children, many of whom were attired in traditional bright-red silk clothing, sang and danced as the traditional Chinese music played out in the background.
Katie Wong, in a conversation with Bernama, said that she was "always very happy" to attend events organised by the Malaysian community which also participated in events organised by her.
"We look forward to welcoming Malaysians to our own Lunar New Year celebrations which will be in February," she said, adding that many of the Malaysian community leaders such as Kim Bong, Sam Chin and others had attended her events.
Former Comptroller of New York, John Liu, who thanked the MCA for inviting him, jocularly remarked that "you can be a comptroller for a limited number of years but you can be a former comptroller forever".
He also identified the commonality between New York and Malaysia, particularly in diversity of their cultures and races. "Malaysia is a highly diverse multiracial society and we have a lot to learn from Malaysia in terms of multiracial coexistence," he said.
Zulhasnan, who was invited as the guest of honour to address the gathering, observed that this was his first meeting with the MCA in New York, adding that he had come all the way from Washington to meet the community.
He lauded the Chinese community's business sense and expressed the hope to work closely with the community in the future. — Bernama