Najib Razak and his wife, Rosmah Mansor, attended the national-level Chinese New Year open house at the Sitiawan airfield in Sitiawan tonight.

The prime minister and his wife, who took a bus ride from the Royal Malaysian Navy base here, arrived at the venue to a tumultuous welcome at about 9pm.

They were greeted on arrival by Information Communications and Culture Minister Dr Rais Yatim and his wife, Masnah Rais, Perak Menteri Besar Dr Zambry Abd Kadir and his wife, Saripah Zulkifli, and leaders of Barisan Nasional component parties.

Shortly after, Najib and Rosmah were welcomed by cultural performances put up by dance troupes from various races.

An array of fascinating events, including shows by local and international artistes and cultural troupes entertained some 50,000 people who attended the open house.

PM visits two families in Taman Sepakat

Later in the evening, the PM and his wife visited two families at their houses in Taman Sepakat.

They were greeted on arrival at 8.30pm by about 300 residents of Taman Sepakat, and spent about 30 minutes at both houses.

Farmer Tan Kee Siew, 40, and his wife, Chong Lee Chuan, 38, presented Najib with a basket of papayas and seedless guava cultivated by him.

Kee Siew's father, Tan Sing Leng, 63, said the family were surprised when told about Najib's intended visit one week ago although at first they thought it was a prank.

"I was losing sleep over the visit," he said, adding that his son and his daughter prepared a greeting card for Najib and gave it to him during the visit.

For odd-job worker Ling Tai Yew, 52, and his family, Najib and Rosmah's visit to their house was like a dream come true.

"My family and I were very happy as we got to shake hands with the prime minister and his wife," said Ling, who later garlanded Najib.

Najib and Rosmah later left for the national-level Chinese New Year open house at the Sitiawan airfield.

- Bernama