M'sians, tourists out in droves to celebrate Merdeka

KUALA LUMPUR: The Merdeka day parade held at Dataran Merdeka today saw the gathering of thousands of people from all walks of life in Malaysia.
Men, women, children and even foreigners gathered in droves to celebrate Malaysia's 57th Independence Day.
Despite the recent MH17 and MH370 air tragedies, the mood among the crowd was one of pride and cheer as many, who donned the colours of the Jalur Gemilang, sang along fervently to patriotic songs and cheered on the procession.
Wong Chee Wai, who was with his 4- year-old daughter and wife said he was pleased to have brought his daughter to experience the atmosphere of the parade.
"It is her first time at the parade and she was enjoying herself, the parade was really a spectacle and everything went on without a glitch," he said.
Siti Hidayah Ameer, 22, a student from a local university, who was at the parade with her friends said that although the country has faced two plane tragedies, there is no reason why our independence should not be celebrated.
"Our independence is very important and at this time especially, we need to show the country and the world that we are united as a nation," she said.
There were also many tourists present at the parade.
"This was really something special, to see so many people come together to celebrate independence as well as pay their respects to the people who defend the country on a day to day basis," said Madeline, a tourist from France.
This year's parade saw special appearances from famed Malaysian cartoon characters "Upin Dan Ipin". The main focus of this year's parade was to attract the participation of the younger generation.