PUTRAJAYA: This Saturday, Putrajaya will burst into life with an array of colours, parades, and performances as the nation celebrates the 67th National Day.

The event promises to be a display of unity and patriotism, drawing about 200,000 Malaysians to the federal government administrative centre.

This year's celebrations, themed "Malaysia Madani: Jiwa Merdeka," would involve over 17,000 participants across 59 contingents.

The event will showcase 25 marching bands, 112 live assets, 479 national assets - including a thrilling air show - and five decorated cars, ensuring a day full of excitement and national pride.

Returning to Putrajaya for the sixth time, following its previous hostings in 2003, 2005, 2018, 2019, and 2023, this year's event is expected to draw a crowd.

Significantly, this National Day would be the first attended by His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia, since ascending to the throne earlier this year.

Three performance segments are expected to be the highlight of this year's event.

The first segment is the formation band performance involving 300 participants from uniformed marching bands and 2,000 'human graphic' student participants

The second is the unarmed combat performance featuring 250 personnel from the Malaysian Armed Forces alongside the 'human graphic' student participants.

The third is the stompers performance with a show themed 'Clean Up Corruption' within the Malaysia Madani Medley.

This segment includes 500 participants from the National Culture and Arts Department, the 'human graphic' student participants, and an aerial formation performance involving 37 assets.

During the full rehearsal today, Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil expressed his satisfaction with the preparations.

"Everything went smoothly and well. We expect these preparations to yield positive results on Saturday, and I pray that all preparations and the event will proceed smoothly and successfully.

"So far, there are no issues. There might be some minor coordination improvements that we can make, and I have informed the team to further streamline the event on Saturday," he told reporters after the two-hour-long rehearsal.

To ease public transport, 80 shuttle buses, coordinated by the Putrajaya Corporation and Prasarana, would be provided free of charge, running every 15 minutes.

Shuttle services would be available at three locations: Putrajaya MRT Terminal, Putrajaya International Convention Centre lobby, Botanic Garden, and the Persiaran Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah Roundabout.

Water taxis would also be available for public use at five checkpoints: Monumen, Anjung Floria, Kelab Tasik Putrajaya, Ayer 8, and Marina.

https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2024/08/1098246/putrajaya-set-colourful-national-day-parade-saturday