On 31 August each year, Malaysia celebrates its National Day, or commonly known as ‘Hari Merdeka’. This year, to make our 64th Independence Day even more special, Global Buddies & Global Education Experience (GEE), UTM International had organized a virtual celebration with the theme of “Kemerdekaan ke-64: Malaysia Prihatin” under the This Is Malaysia program. The purpose of this program was to spark the patriotisme spirits amongst local and international students during lockdown.

The program was conducted through Zoom Online Meeting and Facebook Live platform. This program was proposed to UTM International authority, Ms. Norfaeza binti Ali on 15 August and was approved by the Associate Director of UTMi & GEE, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ariffin Abu Hassan.

The program received 29 participants from Zoom and four participants from Facebook Live. All participants were provided with a Celebration Kit, consisting of a virtual background and the Malaysian flag, Jalur Gemilang. The event began with a welcoming speech by the Program Director, Ms. Victoria Sharon anak Vincent Jillson, followed by a greeting speech and officiation ceremony by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mohd Ariffin.

The event continued with the recitation of a poem from Global Buddies’ Community Service Team, titled ‘Percaya Antara Kita’ written by the Program Advisor, Ms. Nur Syahera binti Sobri. The ceremony also complete with the singing of Jalur Gemilang song and chanting of Merdeka. All participants participated actively and waved their virtual national flag provided by the committee during the registration.

The program also tested how well the local and international participants know our country, Malaysia through a fun Kahoot quiz session. After the quiz session, any participants were encouraged to share their stories or experiences while staying in Malaysia. Various heart-warming stories were told, especially from the international students. From their experiences, it can be proven that Malaysian are indeed famous for it tourist spots and hospitality!