Najib Razak and his cabinet ministers welcomed about 80,000 local and foreign visitors at the Aidilfitri open house held at the prime minister's official residence, Seri Perdana in Putrajaya today.

The open house, which opened its doors at 10.30am, saw huge crowds patiently queuing up since 8am. It ended at 4.30pm.

Dressed in orange-red 'baju Melayu' and 'baju kurung modern' respectively, Najib and wife Rosmah Mansor cheerfully greeted and shook hands with the visitors and well-wishers.

Earlier, Najib expressed happiness at the people's response to the open house, saying the presence of thousands of people from the various communities helped foster greater national solidarity and harmony.

At about 1pm, Najib joined thousands of Muslims to perform the Aidilfitri prayers at the Putra Perdana Mosque in conjunction with the arrival of the Syawal month.

Two hours later, Najib and wife, together with several cabinet ministers cut a 100-kg Aidilfitri cake at the open house hosted by him and cabinet ministers here.

During the cake cutting ceremony, Najib also entertained the crowd by singing a traditional Malay Hari Raya song which captivated the hearts of many who attended the joyous event.

The crowd was amazed, and applauded to the melodious song that was sung by Najib who was accompanied by other ministers and celebrities.

Although Najib looked exhausted after a long day entertaining guests who visited his official residence, he still managed to mingle around with the large crowd who attended the ceremony.

Despite the scorching sun today, there was a never-ending stream of visitors, including foreign tourists, at the open house.

Visitors were served an array of local delicacies such as satay, soto ayam, ketupat, rendang and other dishes. An estimated 70,000 packs of Aidilfitri goodies were distributed as door gifts.

- Bernama