Evergreen Laurel Hotel hosts Armed Forces veterans to lunch

An international hotel chain here took the lead to show its appreciation of former members of the Malaysian Armed Forces for their sacrifices for the nation by hosting 50 ex-personnel to a lunch treat.

The event was also held in conjunction with the 60th Merdeka Day celebrations.

Present at the gathering were ex-Army, Navy and Air Force personnel from the Veterans Association of Malaysian Armed Forces (Timur Laut District) led by their chairman Mohd Noor Yacub who is also the state-level deputy chairman.

Mohd Noor (right) presenting a souvenir to Evergreen Laurel Hotel general manager Eric Chiang.

“I was surprised when the representative from the hotel called me to invite our members to a lunch treat at the hotel.

“This is the first time a hotel has offered to treat us for lunch in honour of the sacrifices and loss of lives defending the country,” said Mohd Noor.

Present to welcome their guests was Hotel General Manager Eric Chiang along with the Director of Sales and Marketing David Soo and Food and Beverage manager Andy Muniandy.

Mohd Noor later presenting a token of appreciation to Chiang for the hotel’s exemplary deed to honour the veterans. Also present was state-level chairman of the association Lt Col (R) Datuk Yaacub Md Saad and commanding officer of KD Sri Pinang, Captain Abau Nava.

The district-level association has 2,800 members while the state-level has 20,000 members.

“Hearing that Evergreen Hotel is hosting our members for a luncheon, several other hotels started to call me to host us for other gatherings. I have to thank Evergreen Laurel Hotel for leading the way.

“We are also in the process of collecting donations for the Armed Forces Veterans Fund and welcome any contribution from the private sector to help our members who are aged or disabled,” added Mohd Noor.

Meanwhile, Chiang said the hotel wanted to do something for those who had served leading to the country’s independence and well-being.

Evergreen Laurel Hotel general manager Eric Chiang (centre) flanked by Mohd Noor (in songkok) and Yaacub.

“We thought that our gesture is a small way to show the veterans that someone still cares for their well-being, sacrifices and those who had lost loved ones,” said Chiang.

Evergreen Lauren Hotel (Penang) is the only hotel of the Evergreen Group in Malaysia. The group has several hotel properties in Thailand, Taiwan, China, Japan and France.

In Malaysia, the group is known among members of the public for their shipping, transportation and logistics infrastructure globally.