PETALING JAYA: Suria FM DJ Sharifah Shahirah is looking forward to spending quality time with her family during the #AnakAnakMalaysia Walk.
She will join the walk with her husband and their five children.
“My two oldest children, who are 20 and 14, rarely join us for family activities, often preferring to do their own things or hang out with their friends. But this year, they are joining us.
“I can push my youngest, who’s one and a half months old, in a stroller,” the 44-year-old said.
The bubbly host of Suria Petang, who is affectionately known as Kak Shiera or Rara, added: “Some of my younger fans call me by my Instagram handle @Shieraijoy.”
She often tells her children about the hardship people go through and that they should be grateful that they are living in better times.
“When I was a child, it was difficult for my family to make ends meet. A meal at a fast food chain was considered a treat,” she said.
Besides teaching her children to be grateful for what they have, she also instils in them values such as generosity as well as advises them to help those who are less fortunate.
“Not just during Raya, but during Fridays, I would go to the Pusat Zakat to make donations,” she said.
Fellow Suria FM DJ Feeya Iskandar aka Cik Piah reminisces celebrating Merdeka Day when she was a child.
“My friends and I would buy candies with the Malaysian flag attached to it and run around waving the flag,” said the host of Gaya Suria programme on weekdays from 10am to 3pm.
“What unites Malaysians is our multiculturalism. That’s what makes us unique. Despite coming from different ethnicities and religions, we are able to support each other,” she said, adding that she would be joining the walk too.
988 deejays Cassey Soo Yiing Ying and Fish Poh Zuh Hui will also be taking part in the walk.
The duo co-host the fun and energetic show 988 Standby You about lifestyle, beauty and health, from 10am to 1pm on weekdays.
DJ Cassey will be joining the walk for the first time and is excited about it.
“I’m very happy, excited and honoured to be part of the event and walk with other Malaysians to show our patriotism.
“I was slightly worried as I’m not active in sports but my fellow deejays who have joined the previous walks assured me that it’s a fun and relaxing event,” she said.
“Coming from a multicultural and multi-ethnic society, we’re very tolerant and open to different cultures. When I studied in Melbourne, Australia, being multilingual helped me in communicating with people from various countries. That’s the advantage of being a Malaysian.”
DJ Fish, who will be joining the walk for the second time, agrees that being multilingual is one of the advantages of being Malaysian.
“Many think we are very talented in terms of linguistic skills. Not only do we speak English, Malay and Mandarin, we are also able to speak Chinese dialects such as Hokkien,” she pointed out.
Food is also something she is proud of.
“We are spoiled for choices here. We are always proud to introduce our foreign friends to local cuisine,” she said, adding that she fondly remembers drawing the Malaysian flag for a school project when she was in primary school.
“We would then walk around the school with classmates while waving our flags. It was quite fun,” she said.
#AnakAnakMalaysia Walk is a collaboration between Malaysia’s well-known property developer Eco World Development Group Bhd and Star Media Group. Other sponsors for the event include Panasonic (Silver Sponsor) and DRB-Hicom (Car Sponsor).
