MERDEKA!!!!

Today was a special day at work. Why special? Simply because a celebration was held at my workplace to commemorate Malaysia’s Independence Day.

Being in a secondary school allows me to experience the Merdeka celebration with the younger generation i.e my students. It’s wonderful to see how everyone came together to make this occasion a memorable one…and why shouldn’t it be memorable…it is after all our 50th year of Independence. Kudos to all (the administrators, teachers and students) who’ve worked hard in ensuring today’s celebration was a success. And indeed a success it was.

The early morning showers did little to dampen our spirits this morning. We waited anxiously and prayed the sky would lift up soon. God must have heard our prayers coz just little after 8am the light drizzle stopped and we were able to congregate at the assembly ground to begin our celebration.

I’ve never been much of a cameraman/woman. But this time around, with my husband's camera in hand, I made a point to go all out and took as many photos as possible. I have to admit, it wasn't easy running around the school taking shots of the celebration in my formal batik baju kurung. It didn't help either that my inappropriate footwear i.e my high heels got stuck in the earth when I ventured into the water-bogged field, all for the sake of capturing that one in a million shot. Ha! Ha!( Mental note.. high heels and school field certainly don't go together!).

Anyway, they say a picure is worth a thousand words and I can't agree more. I don't think I'll go into much detail as I feel the photos I've taken speak for themselves. So enjoy viewing.

Raising the Jalur Gemilang

Colourful Malaysia

Guess who? Yes none other than Dato Jamali Shahadat, our guest of honour

"Atan" in a light banter with one of the students

The cast of our school's Merdeka sketch

Er..recognise our human Tugu Negara at the back?

MERDEKA!!

A special needs student belting out " ..Inilah Barisan Kita.."

Oh yes! During the sketch our "Tunku Abdul Rahman" had a monologue, as he stood infront of the Tugu Negara.

It was pretty moving and I thought I'd share it with you here;

" WAHAI PAHLAWAN NEGARA,

BANGUNLAH...BANGUNLAH,

50 TAHUN TANAH MELAYU SUDAH MERDEKA,

LIHATLAH WARISAN KITA,

ANAK-ANAK DIPERSIMPANGAN JALAN...MEMBUANG MASA,

MEMBUANG TENAGA...MEMBUANG NYAWA,

BERTELINGKAH TAK SEMENA-MENA.

WAHAI PAHLAWAN NEGARA,

BUMI INI JADI SAKSI,

DARAH KITA YANG TUMPAH KE BUMI,

SEMERAH KELOPAK MAWAR,

SEHARUM BUNGA KASTURI,

DEMI MENYAHUT SERUAN PERTIWI.

WAHAI PAHLAWAN NEGARA,

BUMI INI JADI SAKSI,

AIRMATA YANG GUGUR KEBUMI,

PARA ISTERI MENJADI BALU,

ANAK-ANAK MENJADI PIATU,

IBU-IBU HIBA...ANAKNYA PERGI DAHULU,

MENYAHUT SERUAN TUHAN YANG SATU.

WAHAI PAHLAWAN NEGARA,

ADAKAH PENGORBANAN KITA SIA-SIA?

KITA MEDEKA UNTUK SIAPA?

KITA MERDEKA UNTUK APA?

WARISANKU...SEDARLAH,

SEDARLAH DARI TIDURMU YANG LENA,

ESOK HARI KAU MAHU JADI APA?

ESOK HARI KAU BERADA DI MANA?

ESOK HARI...ADAKAH KAU MASIH BERNYAWA.

WARISANKU...MASA TIDAK MENUNGGU KITA,

REBUTLAH PELUANG YANG ADA,

JADILAH INSAN YANG BERGUNA,

UNTUK AGAMA, BANGSA DAN NEGARA.

WARISANKU...PERJUANGAN INI BELUM SELESAI,

TANAMKANLAH AZAM DAN TEKAD,

PESANAN GURU JADIKANLAH AZIMAT,

BUANGKANLAH DENDAM KESUMAT,

HIDUP SEPAKAT MEMBAWA BERKAT,

MOGA HIDUPMU DILIMPAHI RAHMAT,

HINGGA KE AKHIR HAYAT..."