Head of State, Tun Dr Juhar Mahiruddin graced the Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) Hari Raya celebration at the Dewan Kuliah Pusat Ke-2 Complex.

Juhar was accompanied by Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Hajiji Noor and they were greeted by UMS Vice Chancellor Professor Datuk Dr Kasim Mansor.

Thousands of students attended the celebration and enjoyed the various spread of food and beverages.

Earlier, Dr Kasim in his speech said that the celebration with an open house concept has been practiced and has become a trend that will continue as an intermediary medium in continuing to nurture the spirit of unity and bridge the gap that may have existed all this time.

"Symbolically, this kind of practice is the strongest and most cohesive meeting ground to foster harmony.

"Differences in skin color, religion and race have never been an obstacle for us all to unite and celebrate this similarity with a sense of goodwill and harmony like a big family.

"This is the uniqueness of our country, Malaysia, which succeeds in fostering unity and harmony through this kind of celebration.

"Meanwhile, the food that is served proves that it is the catalyst for relationships and friendship," said Dr Kasim.