Malaysia's 55th Independence Day

I was very lucky being a student in a local primary school many years ago when called for "active duty" to partake in the Malaysia Merdeka Day procession at Dataran Merdeka.

Vivid memories of that day remain till this day...except for the theme we had for that year. Embarrassing as it was, I had even kept my "souvenir" T-Shirt for many years even after outgrowing it. This year's theme happens to be Janji Ditepati (Promises Fulfilled) and has proven to be quite controversial as many quarters has depicted it to be more political than patriotic and not in the spirit of independence. 

It, the theme has always if not mostly, reflected the aspirations and goals of the people. Positively I'm taking it as a reminder to be a citizen of Malaysia who shall uphold my promises to others and work towards fulfilling them. That's how I see it! Enough said!

Let us travel back in time to the eve of the first Merdeka, August 30th, 1957:

Kuala Lumpur - Crowds of people from all walks of life are starting to gather at the Royal Selangor Club Padang (later named Dataran Merdeka with a massive flagpole erected to hoist the Malaysia Flag and still manages to evoke strong feelings in me of Merdeka and it's meaning whenever I drive through).

The event? To witness the handover ceremony from the British to our beloved Bapa Kemerdekaan, Tunku Abdul Rahman. At the stroke of midnight, the Union Jack was lowered and the Flag of Malaysia was raised as our NegaraKu (national anthem) was played. This was followed by seven chants of 'Merdeka'.

On Merdeka Day morning, August 31st, 1957 at the just completed Merdeka Stadium over 20,000 people attended and witnessed the reading of the Proclamation of Independence by our Bapa Kemerdekaan. This was followed by the raising of the Flag of Malaysia accompanied by the NegaraKu and a 21-gun salute.

Back to this day (August 30th, 2012), I'm sitting at home merrily typing away and reminiscing about the good old days. Glad too that traffic on the way home wasn't too stressful despite it being the eve of such an important day for Malaysia and having had a wonderful dinner with the family.

Peace to you Malaysia!

P/S: Best thing about Merdeka? Waking up and turning on the telly for the live telecast.