Merdeka Day: A Multicultural Celebration in Malaysia

Malaysia is known for its many festivities that come with its multicultural society and Malaysians are not the kind to shy away from celebration. Hence, Merdeka or an independence day, like any other national holiday or festive season, is always a colorful and festive time whereby the streets will be strewn with all sorts of patriotically inclined events especially in more central areas such as main townships and of course the capital itself, Kuala Lumpur and other bigger cities in Malaysia. The buildup to Merdeka Day is usually very visual, with decorations, mostly involving the Malaysian flags, gracing the exteriors and very likely the interiors of almost every building in the country. The flashiest and most elaborate decorations in conjunction with Merdeka can be found within the country’s many shopping malls and this basically applies to most festivities celebrated in Malaysia. Quite simply, the arrival of Hari Merdeka is one of those times that add a visual flair to the already interesting everyday backdrop of the colorful country.

School children have their own ways of celebrating “Merdeka”

On every 31st August all Malaysian will celebrate the most important festival that is called “Hari Kemerdekaan”. Preparations started weeks before the celebration, all Malaysian celebrate with some preparation such as like hanging a Malaysian flag along the road, schools, shopping centres as well as private home. ‘Sehati-Sejiwa’ was announced as the theme for this year’s Independence or Merdeka Day celebration.

Young girls from all races in colorful

dress, ready for action.

This festival was not only celebrated by the Malaysian citizen but the tourists from other country are joining the celebration as well. The local people can meetup with each other from any races to celebrate this. Meanwhile, the tourists from other countries can also attend the marching parade and other shows during the parade. The people will be able to see a lot of activities during the Malaysian Independence Day celebration. This year celebration will start in Sarawak and the grand celebration will be held at Dataran Merdeka in Kuala Lumpur as usual.

Pantomime staged during the celebration

During the parade there is a show that been staged to remember the struggle for independent. The shows surely have a lot thing that we can learn because the hero sacrifices to defend the country from being colonized. This show reflects a strong culture because people from all races in Malaysia were fighting for independent together.

Huge Malaysia Flag being carried by the members of armed forcesUniqueness in celebrating:

Another interesting thing, Malaysian is generally very creative. Here are some of the unique ways on how they celebrated the Malaysian Independence Day:

A group of Malay people build a tank (above) and decorate their bicycle (below) withthe Malaysian flags to show they strong patriotism

Salim Abdul Rahman ( left ), Abdul Wahab Abdul Rahman and Azlias Kadir (right ) decorate their rickshaws with the flag in response to a campaign flag fluttering in conjunction with the last year Merdeka in Kuala Terengganu