PUTRAJAYA: This year’s National Day human graphics performance will feature fewer students but promises a bigger spectacle, with 1,500 of them staging a revamped show that organisers say will be more “wow” than last year, says Education Ministry Sports, Co-curriculum and Arts director Ithnin Mahadi.
He said the number of performers had been trimmed to 1,500 from 2,000, one of three main changes this year.
Ithnin said the show would feature 16 songs blending the latest Gen Z hits with traditional asli tunes, along with props woven into the routines.
“If you watch, the audience will see them using equipment for performances with kompang, trampolines and so on.
“When I asked the officer managing the performance, he said it would be more wow!
“So let us wait and see how the wow factor compares with last year,” he said.
The students, drawn from 36 schools, were identified as early as July and first trained separately at their own schools before being brought together for the final phase on site.
Ithnin, who has been involved in the human graphics segment since 2021, said the main challenge was mobilising the children and seeing to their welfare – from food and drinks to transport – across 36 schools over several months.
He thanked the Communications Ministry for its support.
On the hot weather, he said sessions began early, and the students were resting by about 11am to avoid the heat, adding that the Air Pollutant Index (API) in Putrajaya remained good so far.
