Going ‘nuts’ over national flag
NO one raised this flag, but this Jalur Gemilang sits majestically on the grounds of SMK Darul Ehsan, for all to see.
About 200 students had worked tirelessly for more than two months to create this mega flag for the nation’s 60th National Day.
About 200 students had worked tirelessly for more than two months to create this mega flag using 8,000 coconuts and spanning 24.4m in length and 6m in width, for the nation’s 60th Merdeka Day last Thursday.
They stayed back after school each day to clean, paint, and arrange the coconut shells to make sure that it depicted the national flag.
It was a work of love, pride and patriotism to be on the project especially after seeing the end result, shared many of the students.
The school, located in Selayang, Selangor had a special event on Aug 23, to mark its flag project and the nation’s 60th year.
SMK Darul Ehsan also took part in The Star’s “Raise The Flag” event purchasing over 120 copies of the newspaper.
Donning her “Raise The Flag” red cutout “t-shirt” from The Star, Nurul Irdina Mohd Zamri was among the many students who was bursting with excitement to be part of the school event. The 14-year-old said she was happy to celebrate the nation’s 60th “birthday”.
“I am proud to call myself a Malaysian together with the others of different races, faiths and culture.
“We must show our love towards our country not only on Merdeka day, but every other day as well,” she said.
Nurul Irdina said that she enjoyed the past two months leading up to the event as so many students were working together to
SMK Darul Ehsan students, teachers and visitors viewing the unique Malaysian flag made out of 8,000 coconuts at the school. — ART CHEN/ The Star
come up with the unique creation of the Jalur Gemilang.
“I like the project and the event as it has brought a vibrant and positive vibe to the school and students,” she said.
Lower Six student Muhamad Firdaos Yusof, 18, who was event co-ordinator for the school’s flag project, said that despite the challenges in organising the event, he was happy with the outcome because of the “team spirt” of his schoolmates.
As a teen, he said, he was thankful for the peace and prosperity of the nation. Fellow co-organiser Vishalini Devi Subramanam said many long hours were put in to ensure the success of the project which she described as “creative and out of the ordinary”.
She added that she was glad to be a Malaysian and happy that she had friends of different races and faiths.
The 18-year-old said that the nation had made great progress because of the effort and foresight of its past and present leaders.
The school’s principal Noraizan Brahim described the school’s Merdeka Day event as a success because of the supportive teachers and students.
“Young people are the future, leaders of our beloved country. They need to understand and appreciate the significance of Merdeka,” she said.
Ayadurai Letchumanan, the teach- er-in-charge of supervising the programme, said he was happy to see the cooperation and patriotic spirit among his students from the start to the end of the project.
“Although the process of creating the flag with coconuts is by no means a big project, it leaves a great impact on the students. It was also a rewarding experience for me,” said Ayadurai who teaches History.