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Malaysians Wives In Qatar Promote Tourism In Malaysia
Malaysian members of the International Potluck Group in Qatar did their bit to promote Malaysia this weekend when they hosted the group's monthly gathering.
The Malaysian women not only presented a smorgasbord of mouth-watering Malaysian delicacies, they also decorated the venue with authentic bunga Mangga, handicraft ketupat, batik wall hangings and information display boards along with Tourism Malaysia posters and brochures.
Five of them put on a joget performance in full costume, which became a mass joget session when the other women of various nationalities joined in.
"Normally our monthly gatherings are simply a case of each member bringing a dish from their respective country to share," said the group's founder Hasnah Jumat-McCauley, a mother-of-five from Johor who is married to an American.
"But people are due to book their summer holidays soon, so I thought this would be a good time to draw their attention to what Malaysia has to offer as a holiday destination.
"All too often have I heard people say that they are going to Singapore or Thailand or Bali and not Malaysia," she told Bernama.
"Besides, I am so proud of Malaysia. And I miss Malaysia a lot, even though home for me is now Houston (Texas)," said the daughter of a former Malaysian ambassador, who has lived in more than a dozen countries.
Among the buffet spread of all-time favourites like nasi lemak, rendang, satay, ketupat, teh tarik and a variety of kuih were Hainan chicken rice, leng chee kang, roti jala and mee soto.
The guest of honour at the brunch was Zakiah Alias, the wife of Malaysia's ambassador to Qatar. She gamely took part in the joget session, as she helped to show the non-Malaysians the dance steps.
The event saw an attendance of more than 80 women, who received door gifts courtesy of Tourism Malaysia.
Among the non-Malaysians were a few who had lived in Malaysia before as expatriates. They addressed the gathering, singing praises of Malaysia.
Hasnah gave due credit to the 14 Malaysian women who helped with not just the cooking but also the decoration of the venue.
Tracing the origins of the International Potluck Group which she set up a year ago, Hasnah explained that members pay no membership fee and anyone can join.
Hosting is rotated among the women and there is usually a guest speaker to address their monthly gathering.
"It's a women's friendship club that provides support for new arrivals and fosters learning from one another's cultures via food," she said.
Hasnah came to Doha one-and-a-half years ago. Before that, following her late mother's example, she had set up a similar "club" when she was living in the Saudi capital Riyadh.
"We had only around 30 members in Riyadh. But over here in Doha, we have grown from the original membership of 25 to 150 members from 49 countries in just one year.
"It's been pretty overwhelming, actually, since the group was featured in two local magazines.
"Fortunately, I now have only my two youngest children to take care of. The rest are grown up and I am looking forward to becoming a grandmother this August," she said.
Doha, Qatar 01/05/2005
