Hari Merdeka Parade

The Hari Merdeka Parade (Independence Day Parade) is an annual parade held every 31 August in commemoration of Malaya's independence. Since independence, the event has been usually held at Merdeka Square, Kuala Lumpur in commemoration of it being the original site of the first independence parade, which was held on 1 September 1957.

However, since 1985, there has been a general consensus by the federal government to bring the celebrations to other parts of the nation, therefore the national parade has also been held in Malacca Town, Johor Bahru, Kuching, Kota Kinabalu, George Town, Shah Alam, Putrajaya and Kuantan. Lately, the federal government has favoured holding it at Putrajaya, since it is the administrative centre of the government, with parades held there three times.

There were also times where the celebrations were held on a smaller scale. In 2009, the national day parade was held at a small scale in the Parliament of Malaysia. The audience was reduced to 4,000 because of the 2009 flu pandemic at that time.

The human graphic display is one of the many regular features of the parade, together with the mass presentation by members of Soka Gakkai Malaysia, dressed in the colours of the national flag, forming different displays in the ground. It was also be the first time that a Merdeka Parade will be held indoors instead of outdoors, with the 2011 celebrations originally planned to be held in a larger arena due to the success of that year's edition but was later planned to be at Merdeka Square in Kuala Lumpur to be held on 16 September, Malaysia Day, for the very first time.

At Merdeka Square in front of the Sultan Abdul Samad Building or since 1985 in various Malaysian state capitals and in Putrajaya since 2003, a stage is set for the guests and government and military personnel and officials in attendance. The Prime Minister of Malaysia and the Deputy Prime Minister are also there at this time. The Royal Malay Regiment or another military unit of the three services of the Malaysian Armed Forces (sometimes with the Mounted Ceremonial Squadron, Royal Armoured Corps) prepares to fulfill its duties as the Guard of Honour Company, with a military band joining them.

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Wikipedia