Marching on with Putrajaya plans

Parade to be halted only if weather worsens

PUTRAJAYA: The highly anticipated National Day parade at Dataran Putrajaya will proceed as planned, weather permitting, says Datuk Seri Fahmi Fadzil.

The Communications Minister said authorities will continue to monitor weather conditions and could take measures such as cloud seeding, subject to assessments by the ­Malaysian Meteorological Department (Met­Malaysia).

High excitement: Fahmi (below) says more than 80,000 people are expected to attend this year’s celebrations at Dataran Putrajaya, matching or surpassing turnout in previous years. — Bernama

“We have made a decision that if conditions are like this morning and yesterday, we will continue with the parade on Monday.

“The relevant authorities will also conduct assessments from time to time, with several contingency measures being considered depending on the forecast, inclu­ding cloud seeding.

“If the weather conditions on the day are not suitable, we will stop the event,” he said after attending the full rehearsal for the parade yesterday.

Fahmi said cloud seeding could be carried out today to help ensure clearer skies for the parade, depending on Met­Malaysia’s findings and assessment.

With parts of Malaysia experiencing hazy conditions recently, Fahmi also advised attendees with asthma or respiratory pro­blems to wear face masks if they wished to attend.

He added that more than 80,000 people are expected to attend this year’s celebrations, matching or surpassing turnout in previous years.

“We have also prepared face masks for all parade participants, with two pairs for each of them.

“We are not forcing them to wear face masks. It will be up to individual participants.

“If they feel they need to wear them, they can,” he added.

Fahmi said Prasarana Malaysia Bhd will provide 24-hour MRT services, alongside feeder buses from MRT stations to the site and water taxis, to facilitate public travel to the event.