KUALA LUMPUR: Even cyberspace has taken note of the 51st Malaysia Day celebration, with a special Google Doodle on show for the world to see.
In an even more special move, the doodle was designed by a 16-year-old Malaysian.
Titled “Beauty of Malaysia”, the doodle was designed by Lee Yee Run of SMJK(C) Yoke Kuan in Sekinchan, Selangor and featured on the Google Malaysia website.
Lee won the hearts of the Doodle 4 Google competition judges with his work that incorporates the Penang Bridge, Jalur Gemilang, Kuala Lumpur Tower, Petronas Twin Towers, the national flower and beaches.
The teen beat three other contestants to win the grand prize as well as the main prize in the 16-17 age group category.
In describing the inspiration for his work, he said many people were caught up in the hustle and bustle of life and miss out on the beauty of the country.
“Let’s step out of the box, travel to attractive spots, discover and embrace the true and unique colours of Malaysia,” he said.
The competition, themed “Malaysia to me is…”, was launched in April in conjunction with Visit Malaysia Year 2014 and was opened to all Malaysian primary and secondary schools. Winners were announced on Sept 8.
The other Doodle 4 Google category winners were: Vaisnawi Harulnathan of SJK(T) Vallambrosa, Klang (Age 7-9); Chin Joe Yi of SJK(C) Kwang Hwa, Penang (Age 10-12); and, Mohammed Anoof Ibrahim of Mutiara International Grammar School, Ampang (Age 13-15).
The competition, the first of its kind to be held locally, saw entries judged on artistic merit, creativity and theme.
Winners were selected by a Google Doodle team and through online voting open to the public last month.
Google Malaysia managing director Sajith Sivanandan said his team worked hard to shortlist 20 designs that best represented imagination and creativity — the two traits valued highly at Google.
This was not the first time a Malaysian-themed doodle was featured on the Google website. Previous Malaysia-tinged Google Doodles included one for the 2013 General Election, one for the late Yasmin Ahmad’s birthday and recently, the 57th Merdeka Day celebration. Report by Sameer Ahmed Shaikh