Their farewell was celebrated with a charity gala dinner where the proceeds will go to numerous children’s homes.
The United Buddy Bears exhibition has spent the last three months outside the Pavilion shopping centre in Kuala Lumpur.
The exhibition consisted of 147 fibreglass bears that stand hand in hand, representing 143 different countries from the United Nations.
Each 2m tall fibreglass bear was designed and hand-painted by different artists on behalf of their native countries, each symbolising unity and mutual understanding amongst different nations, cultures and religions.
The exhibition was designed to help children’s charities around the globe.
Internationally acclaimed artiste Dan Hill performed his greatest hits at the dinner. Hill, famous for his evergreen songs such as Sometimes When We Touch and Can’t We Try, was in the country specially for the United Buddy Bears World Tour.
The proceeds from the dinner will go to the children from Angels Home for Children, Yayasan Chow Kit, Shelter Home for Children, Ti-Ratana Welfare Home, Yayasan Permata and Yayasan Raja Muda Selangor and to the Buddy Bear Help, an international child-aid organisation.
Auctions for limited edition miniature bears, sized 6cm and 22cm, was conducted during the dinner. Two specially hand-painted bears by Mrs Eva Herlitz, one of the creators of the United Buddy Bears, was also auctioned off.
Malaysian songstress Shafinaz and international artiste Jay Scott Berry performed to the delight of the audience.