KUALA LUMPUR, March 16 -- Greeting cards may seem like relics of the past, as most of us now send festive wishes through GIFs and stickers on our mobile phones.

However, some Malaysians continue the tradition of writing greeting cards to royal families both here and abroad as part of their annual Hari Raya Aidilfitri ritual. In return, the royal families almost always write back!

Primary school teacher Hafizul Syarafi Mohd Noor, 35, has been diligently doing this since 2017 and cherishes every card he receives in return, especially those from the Johor palace.

"My relatives and friends are not very enthusiastic about writing greeting cards. But, the royals will almost always write back because the palaces have dedicated teams to handle...