Foreigners in awe of Malaysia's National Day celebration

KUALA LUMPUR: The lively and colourful National Day celebration here has left foreigners in awe of Malaysians' patriotic spirit following the toned-down celebrations of the annual affair for two years due to the COVID-19 restrictive measures.

Turkiye national Zeynep Rana Ustuner, 22, and her twin sister Busra Ikbal Ustuner while currently touring Malaysia, expressed their amazement over the joyous occasion, judging from the very appreciative crowd.

"Today is a really good day, it is very enjoyable and the crowd is big. I think it's because you (Malaysians) have not celebrated the occasion like this for two years, so this time people could come together and celebrate," the twins told Bernama.

Corinna Remberg, 30, a visitor from Germany who had experienced watching the National Day parade previously, decided to once again join the crowd in reliving the memories back in 2015 when she was residing in Kuala Lumpur for a short period.

This time, she brought along her husband for a mini honeymoon and did not expect to see such high spirits from Malaysians in celebrating the historic day.

"It's a nice atmosphere; there is a difference between the celebration here and in Germany and we don't have this national pride celebration so much...so it's really nice to witness the celebration here," she said.

Spain-born Rodrigo Maroto, 35, who is working here in the financial sector expressed his appreciation for the multi-racial unity and harmony displayed during the parade.

"Very nice, the coordination is fantastic, seeing different groups of people with various presentations.

"The public come here together and joyfully celebrate their National Day, and that is something nice about this country," he said.

-- BERNAMA