A show of national pride

> Maybe it’s time Dataran Merdeka features a daily flag raising and lowering ceremony together with a marching band performance

BORAK-BORAK

AUGUST and September are always special months for Malaysia. It was on Aug 31, 1957, when Malaya gained independence from the British, and it was on Sept 16, 1963, when Malaysia was formed. Let’s not get those dates mixed up.

Dataran Merdeka in downtown Kuala Lumpur is often the venue for the annual Merdeka march past and other celebrations, but this year’s Merdeka celebrations will be held in Putrajaya. A positive move to reflect the change in government.

I’m also glad that Kota Kinabalu will host this year’s Malaysia Day celebrations, reflecting the inclusive approach of our national leaders.

As in every celebration, there’ll always be a march past by marching bands. We should give greater prominence to our talented marching bands. Going by what I have seen at many national and state-level march pasts, I dare say that we have more than 100 marching bands in the country.

We should expose the talents of our bands since so much money had gone into buying expensive musical instruments.

Bands from the Royal Malaysian Police, Royal Malay Regiment and Royal Malaysian Navy have always impressed me. As for school bands, those from Victoria Institution in Kuala Lumpur, Keat Hwa Secondary School in Alor Star, and St Xavier’s Institution in George Town have always caught my eye. I believe many other good bands exist other than the ones I mentioned.

They should be given opportunities to show their capability to the public, not just at annual band competitions or march pasts commemorating Merdeka or Malaysia Day or on special days observed at the state level.

Dataran Merdeka is the ideal place for holding special daily marching band performances for a number of strong reasons.

It would be poignantly patriotic when people can join in to sing the Negaraku during special flag raising and flag lowering ceremonies held in the morning and evening respectively.

A flag pole can be erected at the St Mary’s Church end of Dataran Merdeka for this special purpose. The flag ceremonies can be held at 9am and 6pm respectively.

After the flag ceremonies, the bands can play other tunes in their repertoire, say, for about half an hour.

That should certainly add to the colour and attraction of Dataran Merdeka. This way, visitors both foreign and local alike would have something to look forward to other than take selfies or wefies amidst the picturesque heritage buildings.

To ensure that the ceremonies are done properly, the many uniformed services in the country can be engaged for the task. Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur (DBKL) may perhaps take the initiative to coordinate the participation of these uniformed services and bands by drawing up a monthly or quarterly schedule.

In the event of a sudden non-show because of a scheduling mix-up, DBKL’s own marching band can stand in at short notice.

The inspiration for my proposal comes from the daily ceremonies at the jam-packed Tiananmen Square in Beijing, which draw in thousands of visitors every day.

At sunrise, the flag raising ceremony is performed by uniformed troops and lasts for about three minutes. It’s estimated that it takes about two minutes and seven seconds for the entire sun to rise above the horizon. Thus, the flag is raised very slowly in accordance with this duration. Visitors wake up at the crack of dawn to witness this. The flag lowering ceremony is much shorter and lasts for about seven to 10 seconds.

If my humble suggestion is taken up, not only can our level of patriotism be heightened somewhat, the special ceremonies and band performances can also make Dataran Merdeka more attractive to visitors.

And we don’t need millions to start this new tourism product.

Jeff Yong, after making his mark in the twisty maze of mainstream journalism, has finally decided to enjoy what he does best – observing the unusual and recounting the gleeful. He can be contacted at lifestyle. borak@gmail.com.