No raining on this Putrajaya parade

PUTRAJAYA: Malaysians from all walks of life converged at Dataran Putrajaya in a show of unity as the country celebrated its 66th National Day.

The pre-dawn downpour did not dampen their spirits. In fact, some of them came as early as Wednesday night to “book” the best viewing spots.

Those who made their way into the administration centre at 2am were surprised to see heavy traffic and by 4am, the nearest parking spots available were more than 1km away.

The rain stopped around 6am and the weather remained cool and breezy throughout the parade.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and wife Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, his deputies Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof arrived at 7.45am.

At 8am, Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah and Raja Permaisuri Agong Tunku Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah arrived.

Sultan Abdullah wore a green military outfit while Tunku Azizah was resplendent in a blue baju kurung.

The event kicked off with the national anthem Negaraku, followed by a 14-gun salute and later, the Rukun Negara was recited.

Malaysian pride: Malaysian Armed Forces (ATM) marching on along the streets of Putrajaya to celebrate National Day in the country’s administrative centre. — Bernama

The celebration then proceeded to performances by students from several schools in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor.

The Army Red Warrior also showed off their motorcycle stunts, including having five people on a single machine.

They had the crowd cheering when they executed back-breaking stunts, including replicating Tugu Negara and forming the shape of a peacock and Rafflesia.

Another at-the-edge-of-the-seat show came from the Royal Malaysian Police VAT69 Commando parachute unit.

Jumping from a height of 5,000m, the six-man team made a perfect landing right in front of the Royal Box.

The celebration then proceeded with a marching parade, in which the contingents were divided into nine components such as national security and wellbeing.

Flying the colours: Buildings decked with the Jalur Gemilang as the parade marches past and an aerial display flies ahead. — YAP CHEE HONG/The Star

The parade involving Abang Bomba and the K-9 unit was obviously the crowd favourite as they cheered the firemen on.

The term Abang Bomba refers to firemen with well-built physiques. These firefighters became a sensation at last year’s National Day celebration, in which they flexed their muscles to a full house along the parade at Dataran Merdeka.

Another show stealer were missiles displayed by the Royal Malaysian Air Force, with many left in awe and speechless at the size.

The highlight of the National Day celebration was an air show featuring 50 assets such the Sukhoi-30 twin-engine and F/A-18D fighter jets, Black Hawk and Superlynx combat helicopters.

As the Cabinet members left the venue, many sportingly took the time to roll down their windows for pictures with the guests.