Independence day is celebrated every year on 31st August, but this year Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) Kuala Lumpur celebrates the special 65 years Independence Day with colourful programmes to inspire the spirit of patriotism and love for the country. Many programs were arranged from 11th August to 15th September 2022 in conjunction with UTM’s 50 years anniversary this year.

With a collaboration between the Office of Students Affairs and Jawatankuasa Kolej Mahasiswa (JKM), Kolej Siswa Jaya (KSJ), 8 activities were arranged starting with Guess It Right on 11th August, a quiz program that was conducted online. The program aimed to expose the students to the history and culture of Malaysia and to nurture the love for the country in the heart of the students besides to know each other.

Within 2 hours, 6 different games which are Crossword, Pictionary, Bingo, Zoom Out, Kahoot, and Scavenger Hunt, were conducted. Mr. Asdaque started the session with ice breaking to ensure the students know each other and continue with a briefing on all the rules and regulations.

In the end, a virtual photo session was taken for the memoir. The Guess It Right activity received 41 participants from 14 clubs. The overall game won by Persatuan Pengurusan & Penilaian Harta Tanah (PEHARTA) club, followed by Persatuan Mahasiswa Kejuruteraan Awam (PEMKA) and BUDAYA (Kelab Budaya Seni).

The 65 years independence celebration was continued with a Kampung Boy program on 28th August 2022. This activity was held at Kolej Siswa Jaya starting from 7.30 a.m. until 2.00 p.m.. 6 traditional games such as Galah Panjang, Tarik Tali, Baling Selipar, Congkak, and Tating Lawi Ayam were conducted by Shabil and Ahza as the emcees.

The day started with a light exercise led by the team 10kg Weight Loss Challenge Team. 4 groups participated in the first game, Galah Panjang and 4 boy groups participated in Tarik Tali game. The program ended with Baling Selipar, Congkak and Tating Lawi Ayam. Overall, Kampung Boy was participated by 62 students of KSJ, UTM Kuala Lumpur.

On the same day, an activity called Merdeka Trace was conducted. Similar like the famous TV programme Explore Race, 6 groups of students need to find a treasure hidden around historical places in Kuala Lumpur such as Dataran Merdeka, National Museum, Tugu Negara, Masjid Jamek and many more. They were given a quiz and task to complete in order to receive the next clue.

On 30th August 2022, Semarak Merdeka 65 Tahun’s committee organized a program called Project Night Fall. It is a plogging activity held around Kuala Lumpur. Plogging is an activity of cleaning and collecting trash, objectively to raise societal awareness of waste issues and to demonstrate our support for the 12th goal of SDGs to the community.

In addition, this program also can promote a healthy lifestyle to communities and students while sharing the happiness of celebrating National Day. Besides, this activity was strongly supported by NGOs such as Pemuda Selangor, Ikram Muda and Pemuda Kuala Lumpur which show togetherness with UTM students and the communities.

All participants gathered at Projek Perumahan Awam (PPA) Sri Perlis where briefing and officiated were given by the Principle of KSJ, Dr. Mohamed Azlan bin Suhot. Before starting, a very inspiring sharing on patriotism was delivered by Mr. Marwan bin Abdullah, a representative from Ikram Muda to the young generation.

The participants were divided into 3 groups and sent to 3 different locations. Group A covered Sogo KL to Jakel Mall. Group B underwent plogging activity from Masjid Jamek to Central Market while Group C took over Masjid Jamek Kampung Baru to Residensi Kampung Baru.

The participants were provided with rubbish pickers and plastic bags to collect all trash including recyclable materials such as paper, plastic and aluminium. The representatives from Bin Recycle collected the waste from 3 checkpoints before the program ended. We thank all participants and NGOs who show their strong support and sponsorship to ensure the program ended successfully.

Majlis Berkhatan Merdeka is another program to engage with the community held on 3rd September 2022 at Bilik Kebudayaan Blok A, Kolej Siswa Jaya from 8.00 a.m. until 5.30 p.m.. This programme was in collaboration with Pusat Kesihatan Universiti UTMKL and Pusat Islam UTMKL. It was participated by 65 children from nearby communities with a small amount fee of RM30 as this program was sponsored by the Pusat Islam UTM.

The circumcision program was conducted by 6 mudim from Pusat Kesihatan Universiti (PKU) and divided into two sessions, morning and noon. It started with a welcoming speech by our emcee, Miss Umairah and an opening speech by the collaborator, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Muhammad Fathi bin Yusof from Pusat Islam UTMKL and KSJ’s principal, Dr. Mohamed Azlan bin Suhot.

The circumcision procedure started at 9.00 a.m.. In addition, the Klinik Kesihatan Malaysia (KKM), with 2 staff, and Hospital Pusrawi, with 6 staff, were invited to give free dental check-ups, consultations and health screenings to the parents and community of PPR Desa Rejang who came to the program. The program ended with a photography session from all committees, doctors and invited clinics.

The 10 weight Loss Challenge was a losing weight activity with awareness and fruitful knowledge on how to live a healthy lifestyle. It was joined by a group of students who are eager to lose weight the right way. This activity was held for 40 days with a series of exercises conducted twice a week like push-ups, sit-ups, squats, plank, heel touch, jumping jack, lunges and Tabata challenges.

The most interesting part was hill climbing at Bukit Ketumbar on 27th August with 40 participants and 6 facilitators. Participants also were exposed to a healthy diet and specific exercises to lose weight. 19 students participated and were divided into 2 categories: group A for 10kg loss and group B for 5kg loss. The weight of each participant, before and after the activity was measured. Thaqif Iman (category A) and Dian Nur Ain(category B) were announced as the winner.

Potret UTM 50 Tahun, a creative and art activity was also conducted. This activity was conducted to express the spirit of patriotism in the circle of students from the point of view of artistic talent. 16 participants were given a month to complete their drawing of any patriotic figure.

Merdeka Parade was the closing of the Semarak Merdeka 65 Tahun program on 15th September 2022, a day before Hari Malaysia. Participated by different races and religions of 184 students and staff, they were divided into 6 contingents. Gathered at 7.30 in the morning, the parade started at the main gate of UTM Kuala Lumpur and ends at Padang Ilmuan, UTM Kuala Lumpur.

The contingents received training from the Seksyen Keselamatan Universiti (SKU) UTMKL and fascinatingly for the first time, the parade was accompanied by a special band performance from the Polis Diraja Malaysia (PDRM) Bukit Aman. The contingents received lintasan tabik hormat by our special guests Pro-Vice Chancellor UTM Kuala Lumpur, Prof. Ts. Dr. Abd Latif Saleh, Director of Student Affairs UTM Kuala Lumpur, Prof. Ir. Ts. Dr. Aminuddin Amin and Head of Registrar Office, Tn. Hj. Mohd Najib Masroom.

Beside the remarkable parade and wonderful band performance, the parade was cheered by the traditional dance from Salina Dancer and silat performance by Pasukan Silat Tempur. To show our spirit, all contingents and invited guests of Semarak Merdeka sing our patriotic songs Negaraku, Jalur Gemilang and Keranamu Malaysia. In the end, the Merdeka Parade was closed by prize-giving to all the winners of all 8 activities of Semarak Merdeka 65 Tahun.

The celebration of the 65th Malaysia independence day 2022 was the biggest event so far. JKM and the committees had put in a lot of effort and hard work to ensure this program run smoothly and successfully. Thank you to all UTM students and staff who have shown their full commitment and spirit to this Semarak Merdeka 65 Tahun program.  See all of you next year!