KUALA LUMPUR: It was a National Day parade to remember for undergraduate Tam Ho Yan, 20, from Puchong as she joined thousands at the Dataran Merdeka to watch athletes who represented Malaysia in the recently-concluded Rio Olympic Games.
The team - among the 26 contingents which took part in the celebrations - joined the parade via a double-decker bus, sending the crowd into a frenzy.
Some were seen waving at the team while others took pictures of national shuttler Datuk Lee Chong Wei, diver Pandelela Rinong, cyclist Azizulhasni Awang and their fellow athletes.
“This is my first time watching the parade and I was so excited to see Chong Wei (as Lee is fondly called) and other athletes who participated in the Olympics. I will cherish this experience for a long time,” said Tam, who came with a group of members from the Scouts Association of Malaysia.
The 80-strong team, led by the association's chief executive officer and secretary-general Datuk Raja Ruslan Raja Samah, was among the thousands of Malaysians who came for the National Day parade at 8am.
This year’s Merdeka Day theme, Sehati Sejiwa (One Heart One Soul) was chosen for its second consecutive year to describe the people’s unity in diversified nation.
The Merdeka celebration began with Yang diPertuan Agong Tuanku Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah taking the royal salute followed by the singing of Negaraku.
A 14-gun salute then ensued, symbolising Malaysia’s 14 states, followed by a recital of the Rukun Negara.