The night of Saturday, May 22, exploded the Merdeka Square in KL with rainbow colours, magical sights and heart-thumping sounds. Thousands upon thousands of dancers and artists, excited people and dignitaries thronged and lined up the streets in front of the Sultan Samad Building. all along Jalan Raja Laut, Jalan Isfahan, and Jln Tunku Abdul Rahman, while thousands of officials guests filled up the chairs under two covered stands. KL saw the biggest musical and dancing parade ever, earning its way into the Malaysian Book of Records. See pic.
RTM covered the whole show live and commenting on the festive extravaganza here seems superfluous. A picture of the RTM crew operating a boom camera suffices, therefore, to show that the cameramen were everywhere including on the street among the dancers. I saw one caught in a ring of dancers and struggling to get out.
A definite highlight towards the closure of the show was the 5,500 strong Dikir Barat presentation, the biggest syncronized singing group ever staged. Seated guests stood up and swayed their hips unconsciously in rhythm with the Dikir or spirited song. I caught the back of one, holding a camera.
The music, dances and songs of all racial denominations in Malaysia with Sabah and Sarawak stealing the show through their most original presentation. The fireworks bursting and lighting up the sky in rhythm with the Dikir Bart presentation would put the Merdeka celebration firework to shame. The Joget Lambak which began after the Yang diPertuan Agong and his Consort left the premise accompanied by a thunderous applause and a sea of weaving hands, was so animated that the Minister of Tourism. YB Dato" Seri Dr. Ng Yen Yen, extended the joget many times, herself dancing like a pro with the group on stage.
It was a most memorable night. Any festive presentation in the future will have a tough time to beat last night's show. Congratulations to the organizers.
14 comments:
Where were you? I was at the other platform set for KPL officers. really want to join the joget lambak but my friends semua malu2. Sayang my favourite song the sewang for so brief.
I was at the 2nd platform, far back near the steps. Could see front and back searching for someone I know but no luck. The Minister was jogetting sampai tak mau berhenti hingga Mahathir naik pening jadi MC
tak ikut agenda, hehehe. Kenapa tak join? I had no partner otherwise sure buat macam orang mabuk di atas jalan. Hey I love the Sewang too especially the song that goes like the buzzing of the bees - eeeeey eeeeeey eeeeeeey...
Akhi Norzah,
My congratulations also to all those who had put in many manhours for the event on our tourism calendar.
But on a more serious note, would all this merrymaking acts as a prelude to the impending gloom whereby the 74 billion ringgit subsidy for petrol, sugar and other other items see a gradual withdrawal by the government.
If the people is to face price increases as a result of the government decision, then we might see a different scenario at Dataran Merdeka. The government must prepare the citizens to make life more bearable when the time comes. If what had happened in Bangkok recently is the sign of the times, then we have to take the bull by the horn.
You've just opened more pages of the book of the future ahead of what the govt is prepared to show, Akhi. All these festivities with regard to tourism are helping to pull in the tourists' dollars but if the leakages that have been uncovered or hinted at by the opposition are not plugged up immediately, many more subsidies may have to be revoked and more bonds sold to reduce the deficit. The economy seems to have picked up with a 10% growth in the ist quarter (or so we hear) but after the swell there could be a trough. Then we might have a real problem.
Akhi Norzah,
I saw the merriment on TV after the fact. It felt good to see the fun and laughter especially during the mammoth Dikir Barat. Every face tells a story of tolerance and enjoyment forgetting dikir barat is an East Coast phenomenon.
It is now acceptable and accepted, captivating everyone including Martha Stewart? (was she there, I thought I saw glimpses of her)
It was a good showing by the Tourism Ministry.
Yes, Aklhi Kk, the Dikir Barat is now in the Book of Malaysian Records, sung by more than 5,500 people in a synchronized, animated performance. The Colors of Malaysia extravaganza was most impressive and yes, Martha Steward was there as a special guest. The Ministry is pulling in the tourists but Malayia is loosing billions of ringgit through the 'marking up' of costs for all kinds of services. It is this that Malaysians should be most worried about. The country is rich but there're too many leakages in the system.
Akhi Norzah,
It is an understatement to term it as "leakages", because it is downright piracy of our assets and sheer wastage of public money. Just look at the billions if not trillions of ringgit we lost over many decades of misappropriation and negligence of the custodians of our wealth, and the guilty goes unpunished thus encouraging further plundering of the nation's resources.
This lackadaiscal attitude must end and the culprits put behind bars.We used to look down on others how their leaders stole from their treasury, but it is now happening in our own backyard. Unless we get rid of the parasites, we could go the way of the failed states in Africa or the Eurozone countries knowns as PIGS.
Can't put it in any way better than you had, Akhi. We hear billions of ringgit disappearing in almost all kinds of outside purchases and service deals. On top of that we hear the government giving away millions of ringgit as deals that qualify to be termed as corruption. The offer made by the PM to the Chinese School in Hulu Selangor in the recent by-election which worked and the offer in Sibu which failed to work, are good examples. Such deals made by the PM himself would make many lesser deals sound harmless.The big question is : if current leaders are corrupt what alternative do we have in the next GE? Some people say to work with the devil we know is better than working with the devil we don't know. There is no guarantee that a new government led by current opposition leaders will not be as corrupted if not more so.
Akhi Norzah,
Your question begets an immediate
answer - given half a chance the opposition states are no better, in fact worst. Going by what has been revealed, it was 'making hay while the sun shines'- Perak fiasco, events culminating to the Teoh Beng Hock's case (conveniently twisted around getting the BN govt on the defensive)MP Kapar's revelations on the Sementa sand theft.And these are biggies. What about smaller ones in Penang, Kajang and others.
The sad thing is that the 'holier than thou', PAS, a coalition partner is voiceless or more accurately toothless. They should be in the forefront to ensure theirs is a clean coalition even before the rules are broken.
On the contrary, PAS rationalised all and in doing so, right or wrong gets blurred, Islamic principles are compromised.
So are they ( the opposition) any better? I dread to think of it.
You've put the question and dilemma accross more succinctly, Akhi Kk. Tq. But we're still asking questions. Can we, as wargamas ( walaupun as far as I am concerned sudah ditolak stok oleh Negara) help to provide an answer? I think Pakatan needs new leaders10 -20%who are clean and more chummy with one another to forge a more convincing alternative coalition govt while Barisan needs to get rid of all blotched characters and revamp its agenda for development stressing redistribution of wealth more than accumulation gravitating towards those already filthy rich. 10-20% of the population now own some 80-90% of the national wealth, worse than ever before.
Akhi Norzah,
It is really sad to see what Tengku and Tun Razak did had been carelessly disposed off and replaced by unscruplous pirates who robbed the coffers and stashed the loot probably in Cayman Islands or the Bahamas. Worst still our sagacious judiciary is a pale shadow of the fiercely independent Bench who brooked no nonsense and incorruptible. Short of the legislature being annihilated by the Executive, now we have court jesters and clowns occupying the hallowed assemblies.
What is needed is a complete overhaul and a new configuration of our national institutions. The transition is of course not going to be a breeze. We have to give the chance for the adjustments in the ratio as you had pointed out.
Very very aptly and eloquently stated, ya Akhi AHS. My fear is once the previleges of the underprevileged Bumis are lifted, everyone must compete on equal footing while the ground under their feet is NOT level. Then again the work tendering system is not apolitical. The party with strong cables and pays a high commission will get the job. The judicial sytem and even the law enforcement apparatus are NOT neutral.
SO, ARE WE READY FOR A TRAUMATIC PARADIGM SHIFT, which as anticipated in the NEM might hurt some people? Future leaders are selected by the party AND THE RAKYAT HAVE NO REAL CHOICE.
What can the rakyat do to impose its will on the leaders? No one seems to have the answer, yet.
Norzah,
I read the arguements and feel sad that while we seem to know, those in power do not, or do they?
In psychology there's a phenomenon called "'cognitive
dissonance" (contradicting elements in our understanding of things) which causes a person to take "selective cognizance" of events happening around him or her. As such, Pakcik al-Manar, those in power see and are only concerned with what they want. Others will be dismissed as irrelevant, innocuous, or possible 'collateral damages' (US invention) that cannot be avoided in ushering in what they want, Hence the need for the rakyat to speak up, at the risk of getting your head knocked down.
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