Tuesday September 20, 2011--The Star
SOME 1,000 students of SMK Air Itam mark-ed the nation’s 54th Independence Day and 48th Malaysia Day anniversary with a spirited display of patriotic fervour.
Waving the Jalur Gemilang, they sung patriotic songs such as Keranamu Malaysia and Tanggal 31 Ogos. There was also a poem recital on the significance of independence and traditional dance performance.
A Merdeka Day message by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak was also read out to the students.
Najib called on the students not to forget the sacrifices of the country’s forefathers and security forces in the struggle for independence.
The double celebration on a cold Mon- day morning was enthusiastic, joyful and heartening, down to the shouting of ‘Mer-deka’ seven times in the manner of the late Tunku Abdul Rahman, the country’s Father of Independence.
SMK Air Itam principal Dr K. Arunasala Pandy said the school had always made it a point to teach its students the significance of the Independence Day in the nation’s statehood.
“It’s also a good time to promote goodwill and the 1Malaysia concept among the multiracial students.”
During the celebration, he led the cutting of a cake to commemorate the occasion.
Their teachers also delighted them by sin-ging the popular patriotic song Sejahtera Malaysia before the special screening of a movie, Leftenan Adnan.
The movie revolves around the cha- racter Lt Adnan Saidi, an officer from the Malay Regiment who led his unit to fight the Japanese during the Second World War.
Before going home, the students performed gotong royong to wrap up a fruitful start to the week.
