Even the weather gods were co-operative, as Malaysia welcomed more than 5,500 athletes from 70 Commonwealth countries. It was the moment Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Mahatir Mohammed had been waiting for. Recent economic and political crises in Malaysia notwithstanding, this was his moment.

The city with its stadia, superb highways, flyovers, high-rise building hardly gives the impression of a nation in the throes of economic chaos. As the Malaysian King, Tuanku Jaafar declared the Friendly Games open -- in Malay -- past 11 pm in the night, the sweatand toil of the last few years seemed to have paid off. He struck the traditional gong thrice to signal the opening the Games and fireworks followed it.

In these times of economic downturn and political chaos, Malaysia once a model country is fighting hard to regain its position as one of the premier nations of the region. The Games, which Malaysia had hoped would propel it into the forefront of international sporting community, are now being used to ensure it comes back from the recent crisis.

The whole programme lasted six hours and was segmented into two parts. But in both parts, the idea was boost the morale of a nation that has taken quite a battering of late. The first part, a pre-opening ceremony, included a concert featuring Malaysia's most popular singers kicked off the opening ceremony. Much of this first part was devoted to song, music and dance and blend of tradition and modern.

Top local artistes regaled the capacity crowd on a specially built giant stage in the shape of a ``Rebana'', atraditional drum. Ghazals, so popular here with the Indian community, also had a place in the opening ceremony, as the local ``ghazal'' king Fadzil Ahmad sang the catchy favourite ``Dia Datang'' (It Comes, referring to the Games). The mix that Malaysian society was evinced in a Tamil number by local singer Ragu. He was followed by the Malaysian duo of Michael and Victor who are hitting the charts in Taiwan will sing a Mandarin song titled ``The World Shines Because of Love''.

As the sun dipped into the Straits of Malacca, the lights came on magnificent Stadium looked even more spectacular. And the lights around the city showed why Kuala Lumpur is called the City of Lights. The 70 contingents marched in led by the hosts nation. The Indian contingent, which had the cricket superstars, was led in by shooter, Jaspal Rana. This time around when the Commonwealth nations gather in Malaysia for sport it will only be fitting that this become the starting point for Malaysia to find its feet again. That will besport's way of thanking Malaysia for putting up a great show, despite all odds.