More than 60,000 attended Malaysia Day celebration
KOTA KINABALU: More than 60,000 people celebrated Malaysia Day at the Likas Sports Complex on Sept 16.
From a dignitaries list comprising the who’s who in public office to the man in the street, the celebration was considered by some to be the biggest and most elaborate since the day was declared a public holiday a few years ago.
The celebrations kicked off with stage performances by a slew of Malaysian artists, and concluded with spectacular fireworks that lit the city’s night skies.
The festive atmosphere started well before the 8pm arrival of the Head of Sabah State Tun Juhar Mahiruddin and his wife Toh Puan Norlidah R.M Jasni. The Prime Minister Dato Seri Najib Tun Razak, his deputy Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Sabah Chief Minister Tan Sri Musa Haji Aman, Sarawak State Assembly Speaker Datuk Amar Mohamad Asfia Awang Nassar and VIPS of the Federal government and governments of Sabah and Sarawak, were on the specially erected stage earlier to await Tun Juhar’s arrival.
Also present were the Minister of Communications and Multimedia Datuk Seri Dr. Salleh Said Keruak who was also the chairman of the event, and his wife of Datuk Raya Erom and Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment Datuk Masidi Manjun.
A highlight of the event was the signing of the 2017 Malaysia Special Note Day declaration by Najib, Musa and Mohamad Asfia, followed with the cutting of a cake decorated with Negaraku Sehati Sejiwa logo by Yang Dipertua Negeri Sabah.
“I am happy and very proud of being part of this historic celebration,” said Zuraidah Ahmad, one of the performers from the Ministry of Information who participated in the Jalur Gemilang (national flag) march. “I am happy to contribute my idea and also energy together with my friend during the Jalur Gemilang march.”
Around 30 people participated in the march led by Haji Suwadi Guliling the Sabah Information Department Director, and his deputy Supian Musa.
Meanwhile, Azhar Tahir, 55, said that Malaysia Day ‘is about the freedom that we now have with our independence’. The retiree, who once ran a printing shop, came all the way from Perak just to be part of the Malaysia Day celebration.
“For me, Malaysia Day is a symbol of hope and freedom. It is up to us what we want to do and the freedom to make our own decisions,” he said.
Azhar lamented that the younger Malaysians do not seem to possess the level of patriotism that his generation possessed.
“It is a shame that some of the young people today are embarrassed to even wear a patriotic shirt or admit that they are Malaysian,” he added.
For Faizan Haniff, 23, the young generation today should learn to open their hearts so that they will appreciate the spirit of patriotism.
“As a Malaysian myself, I am very proud to see lots of people coming together with their families and friends to celebrate Malaysia Day,” said Faizan.
Ricky Larry, 28, who recently completed his studies abroad, made a dash to be back in time to celebrate Malaysia Day.
“It is great to see that our celebration is still lively with lots of people coming together,” said the Sabahan who has been away in England the past five years. “I think it is right that Sabah is hosting Malaysia Day.”
Source : New Sabah Times
