Celebration of Merdeka Day

MALAYSIA celebrates its independence day (‘Merdeka Day’) on August 31 every year.

It is a public holiday in Malaysia. Historically, the country is a blending pot for the Indian, Chinese and Malay cultures, language and food. This makes this particular celebration a truly crosscultural affair.

There are approximately 75,000 Malaysians living throughout the UK. But it can be rather lonely if you don’t know where any of them actually are. To address this matter, I founded the Thames Valley Malaysians (TVM) WhatsApp group in late 2020.

Currently, there are more than 50 members within the group. Due to covid, the group had never physically met.

The Merdeka celebration turned out to be the perfect opportunity for everyone to get together

The Merdeka celebration was held on the Oakey Drive in Wokingham, on Sunday, September 5. It was attended by Oakey Drive residents and families of the TVM group.

More than 70 people turned out for the Merdeka celebration. This is the second time that Merdeka Day has been celebrated in Wokingham.

There was all the familiar Malaysian delicacies, such as Nasi Lemak (rice with spicy sauce), Mee Hoon (spicy vermicelli noodles), Ayam Masak Merah (chicken in spicy gravy), Rendang (lemon grass beef) and Kuih (a host of delicate rice cake desserts).

The newly appointed

High Commissioner for Malaysia, His Excellency Zakri Jaafar, took this opportunity to wish Selamat Hari Merdeka (Happy Independence Day) to all the Thames Valley Malaysians in a video address that was played at the celebration. It was a beautiful summer’s day spent with friends physically meeting for the first time who enjoyed an abundance of incredibly delicious food.