Flying Of Jalur Gemilang Adds Gaiety, Uniformity In Malaysia's Putrajaya

By Zairulliati Mali, Nur Syuhada Shamsudin and Ayu Delita Pendek PUTRAJAYA (Malaysia), Aug 30 (Bernama) -- Flying the Malaysian flad 'Jalur Gemilang' in the federal administrative centre of Putrajaya (left) not only enliven the spirit of patriotism among residents, but also beautify the national administration centre. If, prior to this, residents were free to put up Jalur Gemilang of various sizes any where they wanted, the installations of Jalur Gemilang this year was neater when they were put in an orderly and uniform manner, according to the category of premises. This was in line with the aspiration of Communication and Multimedia Minister Ahmad Shabery Cheek, who wanted Putrajaya to become of the model on flying the flag in a standardised way. A trip around Putrajaya showed vertical Jalur Gemilang measuring 3' x 14' hung on utility poles along its main roads. The flags were put up crosswise on the balconies of flats and upright on the side of the buildings. The Jalur Gemilang were installed across around the top of government premises and schools and their fences, and upright on the sides of the buildings. Huge attention grabbing Jalur Gemilang were also put up at several government buildings, including the Finance Ministry and the Putrajaya Corporation. Not to be left behind, commercial premises including petrol stations and restaurants also showed their patriotic spirit by putting up of the vertical or across variety or by simply by planting a flag pole in the ground. A total 18,000 Jalur Gemilang, measuring one metre by two metres, were distributed to the people's representatives of terraced quarters and apartments prior to this while 5,000 more were distributed to government buildings. A representative from the local resident here, Kamarul Zaman Salleh said full support was given to the government's effort to standardise the hanging of the flags which was seen as able to boost the people's patriotic spirit. He regarded it as a very good effort because he himself was so keen to appreciate and celebrate the anniversary of independence after he saw so many flags being put up. "Free flags given out are only to be put up at every housing unit. We will also take out money from our resident association fund to buy more flags to be put up near the bases of buildings, including around the fences," he said. Meanwhile, some residents of Putrajaya took the initiative to not only put up the flags but also build other structures to boost the celebration. This included the residents of the Precinct 11 P11K area who built a gateway to the residential area, hanging up a wau made from Jalur Gemilang, constructed a boat from bamboo dubbed 'Merdeka Ship' and arranged coconut shells in the shape of the figure 57, in conjunction with the 57th year of national independence. (photoBERNAMA) --BERNAMA