KUALA LUMPUR: The wedding celebrations of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor’s daughter Nooryana Najwa in Alamaty, Kazakhstan, from last Friday to Sunday saw a combination of modern and traditional elements of Kazakh culture known as “Bestashar”.

According to a statement by the Prime Minister’s Department, the wedding reception of Nooryana Najwa and her husband, Daniyar Kesikkbayev, held at the Grand Ballroom of Hotel Royal Tulip in Almaty was attended by 250 guests from Malaysia.

Among them was the wife of Sabah Yang Dipertua Negeri Toh Puan Norlidah R M Jasni. Other guests included Dewan Negara president Tan Sri Abu Zahar Ujang, International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamad, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom, Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Minister Datuk Seri Hassan Malek and their spouses.

Also present were Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Dr Ali Hamsa and wife, and members of the royal families of Perak, Pahang and Selangor as well as immediate family members and close friends besides dignitaries and guests from Kazakhstan and other countries.

Before the reception, the prime minister paid a courtesy call on Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev.

On the bride’s side, the wedding reception was earlier held at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre as well as the Putra World Trade Centre here, followed by another reception at Taman Tasik Sultan Abu Bakar in Pekan, Pahang on April 4.

Nooryana Najwa and Daniyar, both aged 27, met when studying in the United States and were engaged in 2011.

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on April 23, 2015.