KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 31 — Shouts of “Merdeka! Merdeka, Merdeka!” by children echoed among the voices of the sea of people at Dataran Merdeka today as the Malaysian Family gathered to celebrate the 2022 National Day.
The excitement and enthusiasm of every member of the multi-racial Malaysian Family to celebrate the occasion are clearly evident with every nook and corner, and whatever space available, along the more than one kilometre route from the Sultan Abdul Samad Building to the Sogo shopping centre, filled with people.
The Malaysian Family began arriving at Dataran Merdeka as early as 4.30 am to secure the best spot to witness the celebration, although the programme only started at 7.30 am with the arrival of the dignitaries and cabinet ministers.
Many of them arrived at the venue via the LRT service, and as at 7.30 am, the Bandaraya and Masjid Jamek LRT stations were still packed with more people arriving.
True indeed, today is a very special day for the Malaysian Family, with some of them clad in matching attire with the colours of the Jalur Gemilang, while there were also those in traditional clothing, all bringing along with them the national flag.
The fine, but windy weather since early morning was a solace.
The main roads leading to Dataran Merdeka were also congested since early morning, but security personnel were on duty to control the situation.
After a two-year lapse with no grand National Day celebration, the majority of those who were met by Bernama said they looked forward to today’s celebration.
One of them, Suhaimi Razak, 45, brought along his family, including his two children, aged four and five, to experience the excitement of today’s National Day celebration.
For Form Five student Andrew Tan, he and his classmates took advantage of the public holiday to join in the celebration at Dataran Merdeka.
