Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and his cabinet ministers welcomed about 85,000 local and foreign visitors at the Aidilfitri open house held at the prime minister's official residence, Seri Perdana, here today.

The open house, which opened its doors at 11am, saw huge crowds patiently queuing up since 8am. It ended at 4pm.

Dressed in blue, Najib and wife, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, warmly welcomed and greeted their guests and shook hands with them.

This was the fifth open house for Najib and his cabinet ministers organised at Seri Perdana.

Speaking to reporters later, Najib said he was elated to see many people attending the event.

"It was earlier announced that we had some 70,000 visitors. Now, I see that many more are still queueing under the tents. The crowd will hit more than 80,000 people," he noted.

Earlier, thousands of people made their way today to the Aidilfitri open house of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and his Cabinet ministers at Seri Perdana, the prime minister's official residence, here today.

The crowd started queueing as early as 8 am at the entrance of Seri Perdana to attend the open house, scheduled from 10.30 am to 4 pm.

Also playing hosts, besides Najib and his wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, were Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and his wife Puan Sri Noorainee Abdul Rahman; Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein; Rural and Regional Development Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal and Tourism and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz.

At 12.45 pm, the prime minister tweeted that more than 45,000 people had attended the open house.

Among the dignitaries who came were former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and his wife Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohamed Ali, as well as former deputy prime minister Tun Musa Hitam.

Najib and Rosmah appeared resplendent in their royal blue Baju Melayu and modern baju kurung, respectively.

As soon as the gates opened, the Seri Perdana grounds were transformed into a sea of people from all walks of life who took the opportunity to meet the country's leaders.

There were also diplomats and leaders from both sides of the political divide, tourists as well as NGO representatives.

The well-wishers were served a variety of food, mostly local delicacies such as satay, rendang, lemang, ketupat and nasi himpit and those leaving the function also received a goody pack, with children receiving 'duit raya' and balloons from two clowns.

Teacher Teh Seng Peng, 44, of Melaka was overwhelmed with joy as she had the opportunity to greet the prime minister.

Teh brought along a Japanese family with her, and they arrived in two cars.

"I am very excited. I wanted to see the prime minister and shake hands with him. I am so happy to have made a good decision to visit the open house today," she said.

Rezapour Martin, 27, an Iranian student at a private university here, has been attending Najib's open house over the last four years.

"Every year, I make it a point to attend the open house. After the morning prayers, I will walk to Seri Perdana and greet the prime minister before enjoying a sumptuous meal," he told Bernama.

For R. Punniamoorthy, 52, from Seremban, who was drenched in sweat, it was a wonderful 'raya' outing.

He expressed his happiness and excitement at having come to Seri Perdana with his family.

"After this, we will take a tour of Putrajaya and Kuala Lumpur to visit the iconic landmarks and tourist spots," he said.