Merdeka Parade

Merdeka Parade

The Hari Merdeka Parade (Independence Day Parade) is an annual parade held every August 31 in commemoration of Malaysia'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 September 1, 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. In view of the Ramadhan season, The Putra Indoor Stadium in Bukit Jalil will host the 2010 edition for the first time, with only a military parade (just like in previous years) with the addition of a human graphic display on the Stadium stands, the first time it was done here since the 1998 Commonwealth Games. 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 more bigger arena due to the success of that year's edition but now planned to be at Merdeka Square in Kuala Lumpur to be held on September 16, Malaysia Day, for the very first time.

The chief guest of honour is the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and the Raja Permaisuri Agong (King and Queen of Malaysia). It is also attended by the Prime Minister of Malaysia and other Cabinet members, plus government employees.