KUALA LUMPUR: After two years of lockdowns and restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Malaysians are thrilled to celebrate the 65th National Day at Dataran Merdeka here today.
Some of them took public transport to the city centre as early as 6.30am to avoid traffic.
Others chose to park their vehicles farther away and walk 30 minutes to the venue.
One of them was Yvonne Chin, 50, who attended the National Day parade for the first time with nine of her family members.
"I am very excited about the celebration because it's two years since Covid-19 and the implementation of the movement control order, when we could not celebrate National Day.
"It is very crowded here and there are many people. My family and I had to park far away. We walked for about 30 minutes to Dataran Merdeka to witness the National Day celebration.
"This is my first time. Next year, I hope to come again," she told NSTP.
Mohd Hishamudin Abdullah, 25, also expressed his excitement for the National Day celebration because he was able to watch the much-loved parade.
The private sector employee from Kajang, Selangor, said he took the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) train as early as 7am to go to Dataran Merdeka to avoid the crowd.
"Since there has been no large-scale celebrations for two years due to Covid-19, this time, I decided to experience the excitement of National Day for myself.
"The celebration was very lively. I was amazed by the performance of fighter jets," he said.
Another visitor, N. Vijayalatchmy, 56, said her daughter encouraged her to attend the National Day celebration.
The kindergarten teacher from Damansara Damai, Selangor, said she and her three daughters were very happy to witness the parade despite the crowd.
"It was worth it even though we had to travel to Dataran Merdeka by MRT. There were so many people on the train.
"When I got there and saw the celebration, I felt inspired and was filled with patriotic spirit.
"I have always watched the National Day celebration on television (in the past). The most exciting part of the parade is watching the fighter jet performance live," she said.