One of the best things about Hari Raya is spending the festive holiday with family and friends.

Diana Danielle

Actress Diana Danielle, 20, is all the rage in the local entertainment scene right now. Born in Texas in the United States, and raised in Kuala Lumpur, Danielle’s acting career began at the tender age of 11, when she landed a role in the 2002 film, Idola. She has since acted in films like Evolusi KL Drift (2008), Dalam Botol (2011), Hanyut (2011) and the newly-released Hantu Gangster. Her next film, Sembunyi, is due for a Nov 22 release, which is also her birthday.

Currently, Danielle is working on a horror-comedy film called Kami Hysteria, in which she plays a singer in a rock band. “It’s going to be a fun teen flick,” she says with a smile. She has also recorded a Raya song with An Honest Mistake. “It’s a ‘rock Raya’ song in Bahasa Malaysia and it’s called This Hari Raya Rocks. It’s a head-banging number and it’s cool!”

What is your best childhood memory of Hari Raya?

My best childhood memory would be every single year when my late grandfather was still around. We felt like there was a place to go during Hari Raya then. My entire family used to gather at my grandfather’s house in Bukit Merah, Perak, for Raya and we would stay there for two weeks!

After he passed on, we didn’t really know where to celebrate Raya. We went around from one house to another for a while, but now we just celebrate at our own home. We don’t have that big Raya celebration anymore and that’s what I miss most.

What preparations do you make for Hari Raya?

I’m not the type of person who celebrates all-out. My mum and I usually go for clothes that are cheap and comfortable because we’re probably only going to wear it once. As for our preparations, it’s usually simple. We spend a lot on food. Food makes us happy and that’s what we focus on.

What is your favourite Hari Raya dish/kuih?

I don’t have a favourite dish, specifically, but I usually stay away from rendang and pulut until Raya. When you have things like that every other day and then Raya comes, it doesn’t feel so special anymore. I also really like pineapple tarts. They’re my favourite.

Do you have any plans for a music career?

I have loved singing since I was a kid but I guess more doors have opened for me in acting. I will venture into music someday but I will have to stop acting for a while in order to do that. Right now, I’m looking forward to starting college. I’ve already signed up for an online degree course in Psychology. At this point of time, I don’t think I can actually physically go to college – I still need to balance it out with my career.

Fiqrie

RED FM deejay Fiqrie has clearly inherited his exotic good looks from his mixed parentage. “My dad has Indian Muslim roots while my mum is Peranakan,” he says.

The chatty 30-year-old guy, who goes only by the moniker Fiqrie, has lived in Japan, Egypt, Cambodia, Saudi Arabia and Singapore ever since he was five, returning to KL only when he was 17. He graduated with a degree in broadcasting and landed his first radio gig in 2005.

Though he has lived abroad for most of his life, Fiqrie, who is the second of three siblings, says being away from home has never dampened his excitement for Hari Raya celebrations. Family and good food help set the convivial mood for the celebration, too, he shares.

Tell us your best childhood memory of Hari Raya.

Raya celebrations have always been rather blurry to me. Overdosing on lots of sweet cakes, ketupat and lemang might have something to do with that.

But this particular celebration in Egypt in the early 2000s stood out to me most. My dad worked for an airline company and we had to move from country to country every two to three years. That year in Egypt was the first time we had to wear winter clothing on top of our baju Melayu.

Instead of visiting friends and relatives, my parents decided to go for a picnic to celebrate Raya. It was rather amusing since our apartment was opposite one of the most prominent parks in Cairo. There was a dolphin sanctuary in that park and we kept looking at the long queue there.

We ended up going to the Malaysian Embassy for open house after prayers and went home at noon as my dad had to work that very evening. But still, wearing a faux-fur jacket over my baju Melayu was kinda fun!

What preparations do you make for Hari Raya?

Most of the preparations are usually done by my family, but I do contribute financially. Usually, I’ll be at my family’s place in Sepang the night before Raya and help “watch” my mum and sister cook rendang, ketupat and other dishes like lontong – my mum is from Singapore, and lontong is a famous Raya dish there.

I don’t usually spend much on baju Raya. I have just two pairs, to be honest. One was tailor-made five years ago but it still looks new. It was rather pricey but definitely worth it. The purple one I’m wearing now is the one I bought last year. I’ve developed a liking for purple ever since Justin Bieber made it famous. There goes my street cred...

What is your favourite Hari Raya dish/kuih?

It has to be my mum’s pineapple tarts, kuih sarang semut (dough shredded down to rice-sized, sprinkled with Hersheys chocolate rice then baked), chocolate chip cookies, and horse-shoe roll (it has three to four layers of chocolate and vanilla-flavoured cakes cemented together with Nutella, baked, and then chilled before served).

Tell us something about yourself.

Spending Hari Raya as an adult these days is rather different from when I was a child. After Raya prayers, the routine of seeking forgiveness from family members, and the big family brunch with the family ... I’d rather just rot at home and watch TV and continue eating.

I guess when your job revolves around you meeting and interacting with people each day – you would rather just chill and relax at home with the family (on your time off).

Wendy Wong

Though Penang-born actress and producer Wendy Wong spent most of her childhood in Hong Kong, she has had no problems assimilating to the practices of Islam ever since she embraced the religion in 2008 (she tied the knot with businessman Yacob Chik the following year).

The 40-plus Wong, who studied dance choreography and filmmaking in Hong Kong, moved back to Malaysia in 1989. She started her own film company called Produksi Seni Duapuluh-Duapuluh Sdn Bhd in 1991 and has been a steady fixture on Malaysian TV since. Wong’s credits include the popular TV programme Kisah Benar, whiich is based on real-life events in Malaysia.

What’s your best childhood memory of Hari Raya?

Oh, it started when I was very young – at the ripe age of 30-plus. (Laughs) I did not celebrate Raya as a child because I grew up in Hong Kong.

For me, the tradition started only in my 20s, after I came back to Malaysia and attended my first open house. A good friend of mine taught me how to wear my first baju kurung for the open house. The concept of an open house was a complete culture shock for me! It was so crowded and my first impression was: “How can so many people be in the same place at once?”

What preparations do you make for Hari Raya?

The year 2008 was the first time I really got involved in Raya preparations. I went to my brother-in-law’s village in Ipoh, Perak, and made ketupat at night. He could make up to 20 pieces in an hour while it took me a whole hour to complete just one!

Nowadays, it takes me about three weeks to a month to prepare for Raya. I always spend the first week cleaning the house – you know what they say, you always have to get rid of the old stuff for better things to come. Then I will go shopping for my husband’s baju Melayu, as well as my own baju kurung and of course, shoes!

What is your favourite Hari Raya dish/kuih?

Sambal goreng. My sister-in-law makes excellent sambal goreng and I look forward to eating them every Raya. I also love kek lapis, especially the Sarawakian variety.

What’s in the pipeline for you?

I’m planning to slow down this year as my husband and I are trying for a baby. I’ve been quite stressed out in the past, and now I just want to take it easy and slow down. There will be no acting for me for a while but I am currently working on a history-based documentary called Ghazal – Warisan Pak Lomak with FINAS (National Film Development Corporation). I am quite selective of my projects. I always like to touch on educational topics to create awareness.

Mooky

Mundzir Abdul Latif, or Mooky as he is popularly known, is the 30-year-old frontman of award-winning local rock band One Buck Short and while he certainly rocks on stage, he is quite the soft-spoken musician in real life. This year, he celebrates Hari Raya with his wife Ayesha Frances Adam, 27, and with their beautiful eight-month-old son Muhammad Mahdi, at Mooky’s hometown in Bukit Mertajam, Penang.

What’s your best childhood memory of Hari Raya?

It would be when my grandparents (on my father’s side) were still around. I would be around nine to 10 years old then. Celebrating Raya then was so much fun as all the family members would return to the “kampung” and congregate at my grandparents’ house including my cousins and extended cousins as well.

What preparations do you make for Hari Raya?

Our Raya preparations have changed drastically with the arrival of our baby. This year is we celebrate Raya at my hometown so I’m really excited to meet my aunties, uncles and cousins and catch up with them. We didn’t take much time to do the preparations, we’re pretty much done with our baju raya. Mine is black while our son has a little white jubah (robe) which my mother got in Saudi Arabia (where my parents are currently based). Ayesha has a bright blue baju she bought in Jakarta, Indonesia, during our recent trip to visit my brother who resides there. So no, we don’t have any colour coordination this year!

What is your favourite Hari Raya dish/kuih?

A special rendang made by my late grandmother. Fortunately, my aunty in my hometwon is continuing with the tradition so I’m really excited to taste it this Raya. I don’t have any particular favourite kuih for Raya, but karipap (curry puff) is my all-time favourite.

What are you currently working on?

Right now we are busy organising Rockaway 2012 (one of the biggest rock festivals in Malaysia this year). The last one we did was Rockaway 2009. Other than that, the band has just released a Bahasa Malaysia album called Kampung Glam, and there’s a new video, too. My bandmates and I are also working on our English album that we plan to release next year.

Sarah Alia Fong

Sarah Alia Fong, 32, is a part-time newsreader on the TV station Al-Hijrah. Prior to joining Al-Hijrah, she was a senior producer and a newsreader at Astro Awani.

Sarah is also a doting mother to Alif Putra Clarence, 10, and Putri Aisyah, who is almost two. These days, Kuala Lumpur-born Sarah and her husband have their hands full setting up their business venture – a Chinese-Muslim restaurant in Kajang, Selangor.

What’s your best childhood memory of Hari Raya?

I always looked forward to Raya because all my good friends will gather at one open house (the same house every year!) and we will spend time chatting, laughing, and of course, eating. There will be a variety of delicious dishes such as rendang, ketupat, pastries, lasagna, spaghetti, cakes and others. All of us would just lepak (hang out) and eat until everyone else has gone home – we would just stay on!

What preparations do you make for Hari Raya?

Every year, we go back to my husband’s hometown in Dungun, Terengganu. My husband and I agree that moderation is the best, especially when it comes to celebrations. So, we will spend a day to shop for Raya clothes – just a pair of baju kurung or baju melayu for each of us. We would buy some cookies, too, although I would love to bake my own Raya cookies one day.

What is your favourite Hari Raya dish/kuih?

My favourite Raya kuih is pineapple tarts and batang buruk. My favourite Hari Raya dishes are beef rendang, ketupat and lemang.

Can you share with us your experience celebrating your first Hari Raya as a Muslim?

I embraced Islam in August 2009. It was such a wonderful experience celebrating the first Raya in Dungun with my in-laws. The last few days of Ramadan would be all about preparing for Raya in the kampung. My husband’s family will be busy cleaning up the house. Then, the afternoon before Raya, my mother-in-law, sisters-in-law and I will prepare the ingredients for our beef and chicken rendang (my mother-in-law’s own recipe) and make ketupat.

At night, after prayers, the cooking will begin and that continues until about 2am! Throughout the night before Raya, the “Takbir” will fill the air, and that gives me an indescribable feeling.

Razif Hashim

The witty 29-year-old Razif Hashim, who hails from KL, has been making quite a name for himself in the Malaysian entertainment scene since 2003. In 2008, Razif attended an acting course in Essex, Britain, and now holds a Master of Fine Arts degree in Acting. Currently back in Malaysia, Razif looks forward to spending time with his friends and entertaining people.

As an actor, Razif has worked in theatre, TV (most notably in the series Gol & Gincu) and film (Goodbye Boys) productions. Right now, he is the host of a show called Best In The World on 8TV, where he goes in search of good food around the country and heartily eats up everything.

What’s your best childhood memory of Hari Raya?

When I was a kid I was paid money to fast! The real memories are during Ramadan – it was really about going through all the heartache and hunger, and learning all the rules of fasting with friends. The better you fasted, the more you worked for your money. One day, I was told that we were not going to get money for fasting anymore. So I went on strike! I got scolded for it.

What preparations do you make for Hari Raya?

Our family is not big on preparing for Raya. We usually celebrate at our grandmother’s house with all our aunties and uncles and cousins. We all chip in with the preparations and have like a really big party on the first day that everyone comes to. Kill all the birds with one stone.

But as a boy in the family, I don’t “prepare”. The boys do all the hard labour on the day itself, like carrying tables and whatever my grandmother needs helping out with.

What is your favourite Hari Raya dish/kuih?

I love my grandmother’s laksa Johor. Best in the world!

Do you celebrate Hari Raya differently now?

My Raya will always be the same; it’s about family. I’m from KL, born and bred here, so (Raya is) the time of year where we can lie down on the roads and not get run over!

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