Malaysia Day 2022: 1950s, 1960s fashion theme to liven up celebration

MELAKA: A 1950s and 1960s-era fashion theme has been selected for the Malaysia Day 2022 celebration at the Independence Declaration Memorial Square in Banda Hilir, here, to liven up the atmosphere and evoke nostalgia of the formation of Malaysia in September 1963.

Melaka Information direction (Japen) infograram Abdullah said the fashion theme, introduced for the first time, would be among the uniqueness of this year’s Malaysia Day celebration, which is expected to be attended by about 20,000 visitors.

"I can feel that this year’s celebration will be more lively,” he said when met by reporters at his office here, recently.

Shahrom said the celebration will also highlight Melaka’s popular mode of transportation known as the rickshaw.

"The guests of honour and other VIPs will arrive at the venue in rickshaws accompanied by antique Vespa motorcycles, bicycles and a band performance playing songs from the 1950s and 1960s.

"We also have banners written in Jawi and with old Malay spelling to evoke the era when Malaysia was formed,” he said.

He said the 2022 Malaysia Day celebration would start at 8pm and urged Malaysians from all walks of life, especially those in Melaka and nearby areas, to attend en masse and don their traditional and ethnic costumes from the past to enliven the celebration.

There will also be programmes to evoke the spirit of togetherness and patriotism among Malaysians, who celebrated National Day last Aug 31, like the recitation of the Rukun Negara pledge and performances on "Catatan Malaysia”, signing of the Proclamation Book and a special performance entitled "Dari Robohan Kota Melaka, Kita Dirikan Negara Merdeka" which is divided into four segments.

"These performances will be presented in the form of movement, visuals and narration on the history of the formation of Malaysia, including monologues, poetry readings, pantomime and infographics," he said.

There will also be performances by local artistes such as Datuk Jamal Abdillah, Datuk Nash, Ernie Zakri, Jimmy Palikat, Anding, Iwere, Kenny Lee and Radhi P.Ramlee.

Commenting on Japen’s preparations for the celebration, Shahrom said a total of 610 banners and 22 billboards had been installed in the state since the National Month celebration began on Aug 1.

Apart from that, he said Japen Melaka through the District Information Office also mobilised the Info on Wheels (IoW) machinery to make announcements on the celebration to the public.

"We are also working with the Broadcasting Department, Bernama and the Corporate Communications Division of the Melaka Chief Minister's Department to spread the word by sharing the announcement on their respective social media platforms.

"Information on the celebration is also shared through the WhatsApp group application with 84 Malaysian Family Communities in the state in an effort to further enliven Malaysia Day 2022 in Melaka," he added.

The public is encouraged to share hashtags for all national activities through their respective social media platforms, namely #KeluargaMalaysiaTeguhBersama, #KeluargaMalaysia, #TeguhBersama, #HKHM2022, Merdeka360 and #KKOMM.

They can also visit the website www.merdeka360.my which is a hub for information on National Day and Malaysia Day celebrations. - Bernama