Heart and Soul: Soaking up the Merdeka spirit


Dawn Usharani at the state-level National Day parade in Penang in 2017. Photo: Sheela Kanagasabai

From 2011 to 2017, the National Day celebration was held at Merdeka Square (Dataran Merdeka), in Kuala Lumpur. But since 2018, Merdeka Day celebrations have been held in different states in Malaysia.

The Merdeka Day parade was a highly anticipated event for my late mother, Dawn Usharani Biswas.

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