Special pupils make Jalur Gemilang from scratch

Creative touch: (From third left) Pupils Joanne, Koshavashini, Adam and their friends busy working on their Jalur Gemilang at SKPK Princess Elizabeth.

JOHOR BARU: For the visually impaired pupils of SKPK Princess Elizabeth here, Merdeka Day celebrations in school usually involve waving the small Jalur Gemilang that each child is given.

This year, however, the flag they raise will be extra special: it is a huge one that they made themselves.

The nine excited pupils, aged between five and 14 including some with multiple disabilities, got together to create a 200cm x 105cm Jalur Gemilang with some help from their teachers.

They created the embossed flag by pasting cotton wool on large sheets of paper and painting in the colours.

Pupil S. Koshavashini, nine, who is blind and a slow learner, said the activity encouraged her to learn more about Merdeka and the true meaning behind it.

She said her class teacher Maisura Abd Jalil introduced the activity to create an embossed painting among the visually impaired pupils as a way to instil the patriotic spirit in them.

“In this activity, we had to picture the design of the Jalur Gemilang in our heads and then put it together,” Koshavashini said at the school on Wednesday.

“We used items like cotton wool, string and shiny coloured paper.”

Another pupil, Adam Iskandar Abdullah, nine, who was busy pasting cotton wool onto the flag, said the project taught him that teamwork is important to complete a task.

“I am really excited to take part in this activity and see how the flag looks like when completed,” said Adam, a slow learner.

Joanne Cha Kexin, 11, who is partially blind, hoped the school would organise more projects like this where disabled pupils get the chance to celebrate the special day just like other children.

“My friends and I are so happy with this activity as we would usually wave the small Jalur Gemilang flags during the Merdeka Day celebrations in school.

“This time, we got to make it ourselves,” she said.

Maisura said she came up with the idea of creating an embossed painting of the Jalur Gemilang as she wanted the pupils to become interested in learning about and celebrating the historic day.

“These pupils need our special attention and it is our duty to guide them in their everyday lives, and help them understand the importance of certain events and occasions,” said the teacher, who is looking forward to organising more meaningful activities for the pupils.