‘Event a huge success’

PUTRAJAYA: The National Day parade at Dataran Putrajaya yesterday was a huge success and achievement, said Communications and Multimedia Minister Gobind Singh Deo.

He said the celebration had demonstrated unity and togetherness among Malaysians from all walks of life.

“Today (yesterday) is the most important day to celebrate among us — the day we gained our Independence. Remember how difficult it was to achieve freedom and how the country was built.

“Now, we have a new government to build the country, and this time, we celebrated National Day under the Pakatan Harapan government,” he said.

Thanking the secretariat and everyone who made the event a success, Gobind said he hoped that the National Day parade could be even better next year.

Asked if Putrajaya would be chosen again for next year’s celebration, he said: “This is an excellent venue. We see a huge crowd and a lot of space. It gives us a lot of options. A lot can be done.

Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng said the extraordinary response shown by the people proved that they felt the true meaning of “freedom and independence”.

He said the lively and emotional celebration was seen in the spontaneity of the people, who rose to shout “Sayangi Malaysiaku” each time the slogan was mentioned by the master of ceremony.