Businessman spares no expense on Merdeka decor

 

JOHOR BARU: For over a decade now, businessman M. Kandapan has been spending thousands of ringgit from his savings to decorate his cars in conjunction with Merdeka celebrations annually. This year, he not only wants to continue the tradition but also hopes to pass it down to his children.

The 53-year-old recalled that he started the idea back in 2002, after having a dream of beautifully-designed cars that showed true patriotism.

“After that dream, I just knew I had to do it and told my wife about it,” he said adding that his family was very supportive of him doing so.

He added that many people would keep the decorations for about a month, but he keeps it all year round until he changes it for a new design.

“When I first started the tradition, I had three cars, and I decorated all three of them with a specially-designed sticker, which I ordered from a graphic designer in Taman Molek here,” he said.

Kandapan said he usually tries to design according to the theme of the year and over the years, his designs had varied from the national flowers to all 13 states flags, and even to the faces of the country’s former and current leaders.

“Every year on the eve of and on Merdeka day, my family and I would convoy with our cars, roaming around the city centre to spread our love for the country to city dwellers,” he said.

He added that even his car registration plates were specially ordered, as it reads “G1M” (Gagasan 1 Malaysia) while his wife S. Rani and future son-in-law Gerejavasan Nair’s Myvi cars have “1M4U’ (1Malaysia For Youth) plates.

“My car plates cost me about RM3,500 while the other two was about RM3,000 for both,” he said adding that he forked out close to RM30,000 yearly for Merdeka celebrations.

Kandapan said this year was even more special as Gerejavasan had also decorated his four-month-old car with a special sticker design filled with the Jalur Gemilang, national emblem, the faces of the country’s leader on a red and bright blue background.

“I hope that the tradition will pass on to the future generations in my family and I also hope to influence more people to show their patriotic spirit by decorating, not necessarily their vehicles but also their homes,” he said.

Johoreans can catch a glimpse of the specially-designed cars filled with mini national and state flags and equipped with LED lights on Aug 30 and Aug 31 from 8am to 8pm convoying around the city here.