Malaysia revise 2

Malaysia Day Sambutan Kemerdekaan ke 54 September 16 2011 Text and photographs by M Raydi K Cham

As the sun rises, all participants were getting ready to rehearse for one of the most important event of the year in Malaysia.

Malaysia consist thirteen states and three federal territories where Kuala Lumpur is the second largest states by population and the capital city of Malaysia. Malaysia is separated by the South China Sea into two regions, peninsular Malaysia and the Malaysian Borneo and has a total landmass of 329,847 square kilometers. Malaysia land borders are shared with Indonesia, Thailand and Brunei.

The maritime borders exist with Vietnam, Singapore and Philippines.

Malaysia is a multi-ethnic, multicultural and multilingual society. There are a couple of different races and religions in Malaysia, where Malays, Indians, Chinese and many other ethnic groups live together in peace and harmony.

Hari Merdeka or The independence day celebrated on August 31st each year, is a national day where all the Malaysian commemorating the independence of the Federation of Malaya from British colonial rule in 1957. August 31st 1957 is the hari

merdeka or the independence day of Malaysia, forming the Malaya, which does not include the states of Sabah and Sarawak.

On September 16 1963 the states of Malaya, Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore join together to form Malaysia. The formation of Malaysia was set to the 1st of June in 1963, however it was postpone to the 31st of August 1963 due to the hari merdeka or the Independence Day. As several issues related to the Indonesian and the Filipino objection to the

formation of Malaysia, the declaration was delayed to the 16th September 1963.

Later on Singapore gained its own independe on 9 August 1965 as a result from the Malaysian Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman decided upon the expulsion of Singapore from the Federation.

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1Malaysia, Transformasi Berjaya, Rakyat Sejatera

A couple of weeks before the arrival of the Malaysia day, I’ve done some research about the country it self and the history how Malaysia was form. It was an amazing history how the country was develops until today.

It is the 54th Independence Day or 54 tahun sambutan kemerdekaan. My colleague and I decided to go to the Dataran Merdeka as early as we can. We set the time to 4am, due to some problem, we were behind scheduled and we received news saying that the area around Dataran Merdeka will be close around 5am or

5:30am. We only have half an hour left to reach Dataran Merdeka before they close the area around it. It was an intense rides as my colleague speed his car to make it on time. We reached Dataran Merdeka on time, we filled our stomach with nasi lemak and rest for a while. After the Morning Prayer, I’ve decided to separate with my colleague so I can concentrate more with my shooting. Not for long I’ve found a perfect angle with a slow speed technique combine with the speed lite.

As the sun were rising, the crowd was getting packed and I change my lens to the tele lens to capture a candid moment, still attached with

the speed lite to avoid harsh shadow.

Around 7am the VVIP guest starting to arrived to Dataran Merdeka. The security became stricter and I was having trouble since I didn’t have any sort of pass and my attire was non-formal attire because I need the comfort. As more VVIP guest arrived so as the crowd getting packed and it was kindly hard to move fast from one spot to another. Before the last VVIP arrived the entire participant were busy rehearsing so as the photographers looking for the perfect spot to capture the moments.

1. The Malaysian Armed forces help each other to put a camoflauge paint.

2. Folding The Federation of Malaya flag or known as Jalur Gemilang (“Stripes of Glory”) before the ceremony start.

3. Some of the participants that were cheering in excitement.

4. One of the VVIP guest on the ceremony.

5. The Prime Minister of Malaysia Datuk Seri Mohd Najib Tun Razak celebrating the Malaysia Day happily.

6. After The Federation of Malaya flag or know as Jalur Gemilang (“Stripes of Glory”) was raised accompanied with national anthem.

A young girl that came with her family concentrate watching the events through the big LCD layer that were set by the officials.

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Around 11am the ceremony was over. Some of the crowd was still around taking pictures and videos as the atmosphere of the Malaysia day surround them. The road was reopened and cleaned, everything went back normal like there was no parade in Dataran Merdeka, wishing the next Malaysia day come in a time wrap. Again the celebration of the Malaysia Day was very simple and short yet exhilarate the crowd.

It was the first time for me to document an Independence Day for another country. Although there is a lot of different things compare to the one I did before, which was my own country however the felling of joy and free was all the same. The cheering crowd and the remembrance of the honored heroes. The warrior who fought for the freedom of his own country was always going to be remembered. Having a freedom for a country is something that the citizens were going to remember and respect for the rest of their life.

To cover for this Malaysia day, it is recommended to come as early as you can. Wear a proper attire (suits) if you are going to take a picture near the VVIP area, however it is going to be hot as the sun rises so it would be better for you if you stay under the shade if you are wearing suit. It is better if you can get a special pass; therefore you are free to wander around the field. Don’t forget to bring water, dehydration can create dizziness and ending up with a bad photographs.

9 The 2011 theme for Malaysia Day is 1 Malaysia, Transformasi Berjaya, Rakyat Sejahtera (1 Malaysia, Transformation Success, People Peace). Taking place in Dataran Merdeka this year Malaysia days were full of respect and fun.

7. The Malaysian Armed Forces concentrate on the parade.

8.Local boys enjoying their holiday with celebrating the Malaysia Day. 10. The parade finally start, there’s a lot of different colourfull movement and expression. The air was full of joy.

“...Sesungguhnya, segala kejayaan yang di capai hari ini di tunjangi oleh usaha dan pengorbanan pejuang - pejuang kita yang terdahulu.”

- Dato’ Sri Haji Mohd Najib bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak