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FireFlyz | 13
HafEez
spent most of his childhood in
Gombak before moving to Petaling Jaya,
an area that he still resides in. His family
moved to Gombak when he was very
young and he fondly remembers growing
up in a kampung (village) environment.
Sneaking out
He easily made a lot of friends at school,
admitting that they “never bothered
with studying much” because they were
too busy having fun after school playing
sports and generally having a good time.
His earliest memory of Merdeka Day
is of a covert mission he and his friends
undertook to sneak out of their respective
houses to attend the fireworks display at
Merdeka Square on the evening of the eve
of Merdeka Day. His parents had not given
himpermission to attend, so he decided to
take matters into his own hands.
They got there, found a spot to sit and
enjoyed the display. At the end of it, he
said that he and his friends walked home,
taking turns to drape the national flag
around themselves like a cape and singing
the national anthem.
Lessons Learnt
He is very passionate about being a
Malaysian and Independence Day. His late
father was awar veteran, holding the rank
of Leftenan-Kolonel in the Royal Malayan
Army, and used to regale Haffezwith tales
of his exploits in battle and his triumphs.
He was taught to “stay true to yourself,
your country and to your family, these
being the key to achieve a competitive and
independent Malaysia”, and this patriotic
blood still runs through Haffez’s veins.
He said that his mother taught him to
never turn his back on his religion and
country, and that people were all created
equal, no matter what race or religion
they were.
As Haffez is in the restaurant industry,
he will be spending National Day at work,
but that does not bother him as he used
to working on public holidays.
Chia
always remembers Merdeka
Day as a special day where all ethnic
races come out and celebrate together,
chanting Merdeka! Merdeka! Merdeka!,
a day filled with beautiful parades,
outfits and love.
Manglish
“I am very proud to be a Malaysian,
where we are blessed to be able to live
in a multiracial country peacefully. We
have Manglish (Malaysian English),
rojak, the mamak and so many other
things that cannot be found in other
countries. I feel that we owe a lot to
our forefathers who fought and brought
independence to us, enabling us to live
peacefully and harmoniously today.”
She remembers the time when she
was living in New York and many
Malaysians who were there at that time
came together to celebrate Merdeka Day.
“Even though most of us didn’t know
each other well, it was almost like we
have this ‘Malaysian-ness’ in us no
matter where we are, which is rather
special and unique. With that being
said, I would just like to wish all fellow
Malaysians Selamat Hari Merdeka and to
ask that we cherish each other always.”
Amber Chia - Model
Hafeez Rathi Bin
Badarudin - Chef