TANAH MERAH: The efforts of residents of Kampung Bukit Kechik here to enliven the National Month has paid off. They have been having gotong-royong sessions over the past month to make a Jalur Gemilang (national flag) and Malaysia Madani logo using bamboo.
Their Jalur Gemilang, measuring 3.6 metres (m) wide and 12m long as well as the Malaysia Madani logo, measuring 4.8 m high and 3.6 m long, now stand majestically on the grounds of Dataran Tabika Nur Iman Kampung Bukit Kechik here.
Bukit Kechik Residents’ Association chairman Mohd Noor Hassan said a total of 200 sticks of bamboo were used to create the replica of the flag.
“The bamboo was sourced from the forest around the village. It was a gotong-royong effort to produce the national flag (replica) and logo, and the residents got-together whenever they were free,“ he said when met at Dataran Tabika Nur Iman Kampung Bukit Kechik today.
Elaborating further, Mohd Noor said various parties contributed to the cost of producing the flag and logo.
“The costs to finance both efforts were contributed by the residents themselves as well as government agencies such as the Information Department (JaPen), National Integration and Unity Department (JPNIN) and Community Development Department (KEMAS),“ he said.
Mohd Noor said that in addition to making the Jalur Gemilang and Malaysia Madani logo from bamboo, the residents also used 60 metres of black netting for plants.to make the national flag.
“We decorated the square (dataran) with hundreds of small flags too so that the National Day celebrations would be more lively.
“Since 2016, residents of Kampung Bukit Kechik have always carried out activities to enliven the celebration. Last year, for example. we built a 30 m-long Jalur Gemilang using pandan leaves,“ he added. -Bernama