KUALA LUMPUR: It is the excitement of celebrating National Day with tens of thousands others that eight-year-old Farah Jasmin Khanzaman and Aifa Humaira Mohd Firdaus, four, do not mind waking up as early as 5 am to go to Dataran Merdeka.
Together with four other members of their family, including grandmother, Petrayuslinda Dallil, 46, the board the Light Rail Transit (LRT) at 6 am at the Taman Melati Station to Masjid Jamek, and then walked to Dataran Merdeka.
“It is normal, comes National day, I’ll get my children to watch the celebration and now they are all grown-up, I bring my grandchildren, who will make sure I get the Jalur Gemilang for them to wave at Dataran Merdeka,” she said when met by Bernama here.
Meanwhile, a woman dressed up in an attire made from Jalur Gemilang and blue and red shoes drew the crowd’s attention.
She is Darmah Abdul Latiff, a visual arts education teacher at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Bandar Damai Perdana, Cheras.
“This is my sixth consecutive year celebrating National Day at Dataran Merdeka and every time I’m here, I’m dressed in an attire specially sewn using the Jalur Gemilang,” she said.
An Indonesian national, Nurul Afiqah, and her 11-year-old son, Mohamad Hamdan Jayadi, were also in the Jalur Gemilang costume.
The woman, who was born in Medan and married to a Malaysian, said it was important to instil love for the country among children when they were still young.
“This is the seventh year my son and I are at Dataran Merdeka for National Day. Although I am not a citizen here, my son was born in Malaysia and that makes him a Malaysian,” said Nurul Afiqah, who has been residing in Malaysia since 1999, when met by Bernama.
Also specially dressed for the occasion were three siblings, whose mother, Ariani Pariman, 42, said she used seven large-size Jalur Gemilang to sew the dresses for her children.
A soldier, Hadi Ilan, 38, his wife, Nur Zaliah Saad, also brought along their four children to celebrate National Day at Dataran Merdeka.
“I want to instil in them the spirit of patriotism and love for the country when they are still young,” he said.
Besides watching the parade at Dataran Merdeka, the public was also able to watch the event, which was broadcast live by local television stations, at the 15 giant LED screens provided along Jalan Raja Laut.
The National Day parade at Dataran Merdeka involved 17,275 participants, representing eight segments from the government and private agencies, including school students. - Bernama