PUTRAJAYA: Over 100,000 visitors gathered to witness the spectacle of this year’s National Day celebration, says Datuk Fahmi Fadzil.
The Communications Minister said some eager spectators had even begun camping at Dataran Putrajaya from Saturday (Aug 30) evening.
He said the main highlight was the parade, which involved 14,062 participants from 81 contingents representing key sectors such as the economy, telecommunications, creative industry, sports and security.
A total of 437 vehicles, 116 animal assets and 21 brass bands were also showcased during the parade, which began at 8am on Sunday (Aug 31) and ended at 10am.
Participants ranged from the popular “Abang Bomba” to the lesser-known but vital Chemistry Department, marching in full gear to band music.
Fahmi then said that a special feature of this year’s celebrations was the first-ever Asean Chairmanship 2025 Contingent and the Visit Malaysia Year 2026 (VM2026) Contingent.
He also praised the hard work of 2,000 student participants who took part in the unique human graphics performance that captivated both the crowd and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
“The government is truly proud and very happy with this year’s celebrations, which went according to plan perfectly.
Fahmi added that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was so impressed by the human graphics performance that he said it was the best performance he has ever seen.
Themed “Malaysia Madani: Rakyat Disantuni” (Compassion for the People), the celebrations also featured various other major performances.
Among these were the Malaysia Madani special dance performance, featuring 1,000 participants from the National Culture and Arts Department dancing to multilingual National Day-themed songs.
Visitors were also treated to this year’s National Day theme song by national songstress Datuk Seri Siti Nurhaliza, as well as a bagpipe performance by the Malaysian Armed Forces.