Amyllah (back, right) with her friends and their children donning Jalur Gemilang-themed hijabs.
KOTA KINABALU: This year’s instalment of the state-level National Day celebration was even bigger and livelier than usual.
More than 10,000 Sabahans from all walks of life as well as tourists had thronged Jalan Tun Fuad Stephens as early as 5am just to be a part of the country’s momentous 62nd National Day celebration.
Amyllah Arullah, 37, said that this year’s celebration was much more lively compared to the previous years – she was particularly intrigued by some of the unique vehicles that were presented during the parade.
She reckoned that this year’s event had managed to attract more visitors
“We were very excited to celebrate National Day for this year. I came here with my group of friends along with our children to watch the parade. We are also here to support some of our other friends who take part in the parade,” said Amyllah.
“It is good to bring our children here to teach that Malaysia is country that is peaceful, harmonious and clean. I want them to see how our enforcement agencies and government bodies had join hands in the parade – and how much effort that had put in their training for the parade,” she added.
She opined that it is always good for the parents to bring their children to such events as it would give them the opportunity to learn more about the country’s independence – and how it all came about.
Interestingly, she and her friends along with their children came to the event donning Jalur Gemilang-themed hijabs – which had piqued the interests of the other visitors.
She left her house in Kinarut as early as 5.30am just to make sure that she can make it in time for the event.
As usual, the event was also attended by foreign tourists.
Betty Jones, 70, decided to spend her last day in Sabah to experience National Day celebration.
“I came from Sydney, Australia together with my tour group. Today is actually our last day here and we were lucky enough to be able to experience this celebration here today.
“Unfortunately, we had missed some of it as we could not figure out what time the event actually started. We find it quite difficult to find information about the event,” said Betty, who was in Sabah for a 12-day-visit.
She was really pleased to see the atmosphere of the National Day celebration.
“We like the atmosphere – the excitement of the people. It was very good and very nationalistic,” added Betty.
Just like Amyllah, 55-year-old Johnny Tutulon is also of the opinion that this year’s National Day celebration was livelier compared to the previous years.
Johnny (standing left) with the members of the Persatuan Bangsa Tombonuo Sabah contingent – the winner of the state-level National Day Parade 2019 – Ethnic Association Category.
“There was an increase in the number of contingents for this year’s National Day Parade. The number of visitors had also increased,” he said.
Johnny was the captain for the Persatuan Bangsa Tombonuo Sabah contingent – they won the State-level National Day Parade 2019 competition under the Ethnic Association Category.
The contingent consisted of 39 members – who came from the various districts around Sabah.
“This was our fourth time joining. We started back in 2016,” he said.
He and his fellow team members arrived at Kota Kinabalu at the night before and had started preparing at the said venue before 5am.
Being a Bumiputra himself, Johnny strongly believed that all Malaysians should celebrate the National Day as one – regardless of the race or religion.
This year a total of 172 contingents, comprising 8,500 participants took part in the parade – a significant increase from last year which saw only 149 contingents.
The Public Works Department (PDW) contingent emerged as the champion for the Non-Uniformed Government Department Category while the City Hall won the Official Uniformed Government Category.
The Rural Development Corporation (KPD) won the the Private/Commercial Category while Pandu Puteri Sabah won the Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO) Category.
The Komander Kesatria UiTM Sabah Contingent took home the trophy for the Public/Private Institutions of Higher Learning (IPTA/IPTS) Category while Kadet Polis SMK Taman Ria Tuaran won the Secondary School Category.
The trophies and prizes were presented by Infrastructure Development Minister cum State-level National Day 2019 Organising Committee chairman Datuk Peter Anthony.