National Day: Police veteran thrilled to return to Dataran Merdeka

Mohd Yusof, 67, participated in the parade under two teams, namely the Special Branch Team F 'Hanya Yang Berani' and the PDRM Squad 69, to honour past heroes for their services and contribution in fighting for the country's independence.

He said the National Day is a special day that Malaysians look forward to every year, to see the various events and performances lined up based on the theme of the celebration.

"I have participated in the National Day celebration for about 12 years. There were times when I joined the procession, and there were also times when I sat on stage as a guest," he told Bernama.

Mohd Yusof, who served with PDRM for nearly 40 years, said he would attend this year's celebration as a special guest to receive the Jasa Perkasa Persekutuan (JPP) medal.

Before this, he had received the JPP medal from His Majesty Sultan Azlan Muhibbuddin Shah ibni Almarhum Sultan Yussuff Izzuddin Shah Ghafarullahu-lah in 1989.

"I feel thrilled because the National Day parade can ignite our patriotic spirit, and this is where we can show our togetherness and unity as Malaysian citizens who love the country and peace.

"Besides having fun and being proud to watch the various exciting and colourful events, we can also meet our friends from other forces such as the ATM (Malaysian Armed Forces) and other PDRM branches," he said.

The police veteran said this year's event was special as Malaysians get to converge at the Dataran Merdeka once again to enliven the National Day celebration after a two-year lapse due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I hope this celebration will be more meaningful because we have not had a physical celebration for two years. Insya-Allah, we hope that this time it can be carried out perfectly and in a lively atmosphere," he said.

The 2022 National Day celebration is themed 'Keluarga Malaysia Teguh Bersama'.