300,000 TURN UP FOR HISTORIC CELEBRATION
Parade back to Putrajaya for first time since 2005
THE National Day 2018 celebrations is a platform to unite Malaysians and instil the spirit of patriotism. This year’s National Day celebration, held here yesterday, featured four similar components, namely patriotism, public order, national security and unity.
Upon the arrival of Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Muhammad V at Dataran Putrajaya, the celebration began with the singing of Negaraku.
The Putrajaya airspace was filled with the sounds of five helicopters comprising two EC 725 AP and a Sikorsky S61A-4 Nuri, belonging to the Royal Malaysian Air Force, an Augusta 109 belonging to the Royal Malaysian Army and a Super Lynx from the Royal Malaysian Navy.
A 14-gun royal salute, symbolic of the 14 states in Malaysia, was executed by the 41st Ceremonial Battery of the Royal Artillery Regiment and accompanied by the hoisting of the Jalur Gemilang.
Present were Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, cabinet ministers, including Communications and Multimedia Minister Gobind Singh Deo, and foreign representatives.
This year’s celebration is a historic milestone because it is the first under the administration of the Pakatan Harapan government.
The choice of Putrajaya as the location for the celebration is also special as it was Dr Mahathir who mooted the development of the area, previously known as Prang Besar, to be Malaysia’s administrative centre in 1995.
The last time the National Day parade took place in Putrajaya was in 2005.
An estimated 300,000 people thronged Dataran Putrajaya as early as 5am to witness the National Day parade.
The recital of the Rukun Negara involving 50 students was led by Muhammad Aiman Shafiq Mohd Shah Noor Yong from the Royal Military College, Kuala Lumpur Sungai Besi Camp.
Shouts of “Merdeka” for seven times, also led by Muhammad Aiman Shafiq, resounded at the square.
Leading the parade was the 60member contingent carrying a 24m by 12m flag.
This was followed by the 660 carriers of Jalur Gemilang and 1,340 carriers of the state flags and multicoloured flags.
The parade was participated by the Kembara Merdeka Jalur Gemilang Convoy, led by Information director-general Datuk Ibrahim Abdul Rahman, involving 133 participants and 38 high-powered motorcycles and 20 vehicles.
The convoy, which was flagged off by Dr Mahathir on Aug 4 in Padang Kota Lama, Penang, had explored 61 destinations over a distance of 6,100km, signifying the country’s 61 years of independence.
The public order segment involved law enforcement agencies, such as the Land Transport Department, Royal Malaysian Customs Department and Immigration Department.
In the national security segment, the contingents involved in the parade were from the three branches of the Malaysian armed forces.
The event concluded with the integrated people’s component which saw a special performance reflecting the unity in diversity of Malaysians that took place amid a riot of colours.
A total of 12,295 people and 475 assets were involved in the parade and procession.