KUALA LUMPUR: As Malaysians ushered in the 59th Merdeka Day with fireworks and chants of ‘Merdeka’, Google marked the occasion with a special Malaysia Independence Day 2016 doodle.
The doodle - featuring two Malayan tigers nestled in between the GOOGLE letters and in the background of a sun representing the letter ‘O' - made its appearance on the Google browser page at the stroke of midnight.
Google said it chose the Malayan tiger as its characteristics suited Malaysia's image of a robust, dynamic nation.
“It’s difficult to find a creature with a more regal air than the tiger. Called 'harimau' in Malay, the Malayan tiger is primarily found in the southern and central parts of the Malay Peninsula.
"It’s fitting that the Malayan tiger is also the national animal of Malaysia, a dynamic, robust country. In 1957, Malaysia won its independence from British colonisation. Since then, Malaysians raise their flags every year on this day to those who fought valiantly for the nation’s liberation. Happy Independence Day, Malaysia!”
This design, unlike previous years, is simple but featured the national colours of red, blue, yellow and white, a nod to the Jalur Gemilang.
The base design of the doodle shares similarities to doodles featured for the 2016 independence days of Singapore, Indonesia South Korea and many more.
Last year’s doodle saw the words Google made up of the Jalur Gemilang, with ‘teh-tarik’ being pulled in the middle. It was designed by guest artist Alyssa Winans.
In 2014, artwork designed by student Lee Yee Run of SMJK(C) Yoke Kuan in Sekinchan, Selangor was featured on the Google Malaysia website. Lee’s design was based on iconic landmarks and elements best related to Malaysia, and was the grand prize winner of Google 4 Doodle competition.
Google had previously released its doodle to commemorate film director, writer and scriptwriter Yasmin Ahmad’s 56th birthday, as well as football legend Mokhtar Dahari’s 61st birthday.
Among the first locally-themed doodles included the 2007 Independence Day featuring the Wau, which was in conjunction with Visit Malaysia Year 2007, and that of the 50th Merdeka Day.
Google describes its doodles as fun, spontaneous and surprising, with changes made to its logo to celebrate special occasions and lives of artists, pioneers and scientists.
It is based on regular brainstorming sessions by ‘Googlers’ who decide on an event and engage its illustrators, known as ‘doodlers’, with the help of engineers to realise the designs.
The doodle idea was first unearthed in 1998, even before the company was set up, by its founder Larry Page and Sergey Brin, who experimented with the company’s logo to indicate that they will be at Nevada’s Burning Man festival.