Cover image via SAYS
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I never imagined that I would one day take part in the Hari Kebangsaan march on 31 August — standing before the King, thousands of Malaysians at the venue, and millions more watching from home
My journey to the Hari Kebangsaan march began when Media Prima Bhd called for employees to represent the company in the parade.
The call for participants went out to all departments, including REV Media Group, the subsidiary that SAYS belongs to.
Seeing it as a chance to contribute to the National Day celebration and share a behind-the-scenes view with the SAYS audience, my colleague Kitna and I signed up without hesitation.
Marching practice was relatively easy and fun, especially with our trainers' pep talks that fired up our patriotism and teamwork.
But it was also undeniably tiring.
For seven days, we woke up at 6am to head to different training grounds, from Universiti Malaya to Stadium Merdeka, and finally Putrajaya.
We marched for hours under the hot sun, building muscle memory to stay in perfect sync.
Along the way, we trained alongside some of Malaysia's biggest corporations, including PETRONAS, CelcomDigi, and Umobile, as well as fellow media groups like Bernama, RTM, and Astro.
When training moved to Putrajaya, we finally got to march with civil servants — the military, navy, police, immigration officers, and of course, Bomba
Since Malaysians have a soft spot for abang Bomba, we grabbed the chance to visit their base in Nilai, Negeri Sembilan for a fun interview. Meeting them was definitely one of the highlights of our Merdeka experience.
Watch the interview here:
Every uniformed civil servant who participated was inspiring. Getting an up-close look at the people who serve the nation daily was an honour and a reminder that Malaysia is carried forward by its people.
Here are behind-the-scenes clips of our training:
On 31 August 2024, we began our day at 4am to get to the venue early to avoid the traffic
By 6am, Malaysians were already gathering at the venue, some even catching glimpses of us during our final mini rehearsal.
To give the SAYS audience a unique perspective, I strapped on two action cameras for a POV experience of the parade.
When the march began, everything flowed smoothly thanks to our training.
The only moment my nerves kicked in was when we passed the grandstand where His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia, and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim were seated.
Kitna and I were so focused on not missing a step that we didn't even manage to catch a glimpse of them!
All in all, it was an incredible experience, witnessing firsthand the effort, sweat, and discipline poured into organising Malaysia's most important national event.
If your company or government department ever gets the chance to participate in the Hari Kebangsaan parade, I highly recommend signing up. It's a once-in-a-lifetime way to feel the spirit of unity and patriotism up close.
Below are the videos from the parade, as well as our colleagues' reactions watching us live on TV:
