Welcome 2010

2010 New Year Celebrated In Full Colour

KUALA LUMPUR, 31 Dec (Bernama) -- Colourful fireworks, music and dance rocked the city as thousands partied to welcome the arrival of 2010.
Major roads in the federal capital were cordoned off for the revellers to bid farewell to 2009 and countdown to New Year with local and international artistes leading the entertainment.
Shouts of "Happy New Year" and 'Satu Malaysia' filled the air as the clock struck midnight.
At the Dataran Merdeka, Federal Territories and Urban Wellbeing Minister Datuk Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin joined more than 20,000 people who came to enjoy the concert organised by Kumpulan AmBank, before the countdown to the 2010 New Year at midnight.
Also present at the event was Kuala Lumpur Datuk Bandar Datuk Ahmad Fuad Ismail.
Sensational rock artistes Amy Search and Ella were the main attraction at the concert which also featured popular rock group 'Hujan', Bunkface, Bhangra Gold Kartz, the Singing Shop, and dances by the DBKL (Kuala Lumpur City Hall) dancers.
A foreign tourist, Siddharth Sharma, 27, from New Delhi, India said he had heard that the 2010 New Year celebration in Malaysia, especially in Kuala Lumpur, was the best and he had planned to spend the honeymoon with his wife here.
"We heard Malaysia's New Year celebration is one of the best in the world, that's why we decide to come here for our honeymoon. We just arrived this morning and will be back to India on Jan 7," Sharma told Bernama.
Exactly at midnight, the Dataran Merdeka was rocked by the loud firing of fireworks which lighted the night with a myriad of colours.
At the Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC), thousands of people including foreign tourists came to join in the celebration to usher in the new year which included a fountain and light show held at the main entrance to the KLCC.
A concert by famous local artistes was also held before the countdown to the new year at midnight.
Some of the people had walked quite a distance after parking their cars at designated carparks after police had issued a warning that cars parked on road shoulders would be towed away.
Many had also come by public transport such as the light rail transit (LRT) which had extended its service to 2am.
At midnight, the crowd were entertained to a fireworks display which lighted the sky around the KLCC. At Jalan Bukit Bintang and the surrounding areas, merrymakers celebrated the New Year eve with the 'Street Party Countdown 2010 Celebration' with local and foreign artistes performing in front of the Sungei Wang Plaza shopping complex.
About 15,000 people including foreign tourists flocked to Jalan Bukit Bintang at the traffic light junction opposite the Yayasan Selangor Building which had been closed to all traffic since early this morning.
Police personnel were also stationed there to control the crowd.
Meanwhile, the Masjid Asyakirin at the KLCC also had its own programme to welcome the new year with a religious 'ceramah'.
Chief imam of the mosque, Mohd Abdul Nasir Abdullah said the mosque organised such a programme every year to welcome the new year.
At the KL Tower, 10 parachutists performed non-stop jumps from 9pm to 1am.

tunku : let us all pray that our country maintain it's peace and stability and there will be lots of development and progress in 2010 and beyond that.