Note: Hari Pahlawan is celebrated on July 31 every year. It's only celebrated later this year due to fasting month in Ramadhan all throughout August and Hari Raya Aidilfitri in Syawal all throughout September. I think so. It made sense, right?
Instead of the hunt, I'd like to bring awareness of the two nice locations to visit in Kuala Lumpur. I admit that these locations are 'almost' new to me, and as I only discovered them recently I find that I am appreciating this much more.
The hunt starting point was at Wardieburn Camp, a place not many civillians would normally enter without reasons. Anyhow, there was a 'ngajat' show prior to the flag-off. Ngajat is a traditional warrior dance local to the Iban tribe of Sarawak. This dance is usually performed before going to war or after the harvesting season. In this case, it's the former. The warrior dance was accompanied by some traditional music using gongs and other instruments I failed to notice. Lovely!
Tugu Negara
And so we began the hunt after that. One of the locations I would like to highlight is the Tugu Peringatan Negara, or Tugu Negara in short (National Monument in English).
There's an interesting story behind this monument. The first Tugu was actually a cenotaph (see middle pic below). It was built by the British admin in the middle of Kuala Lumpur city, but was later removed to the current site. Then our first Prime Minister, Y.T.M. Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Alhaj proposed for a National Monument as we see today (see rightmost pic below). Build in 1966, the tugu was made out of bronze, depicting the fallen warriors fighting in pursuit of Malaysia's freedom. Tugu Negara stands tall at 15m as the largest bronze monument grouping in the world.
The Tugu was impressive. It was really a sight to behold, although the depiction of almost human-like sculpture that people pay their respects to introduces elements that are not Islamic. In fact, there were objections from the ulamas during the time it was about to be built. And then there were protests after that as the act of paying respects at the Tugu every Warriors' Day also indicated idolising the statue and therefore un-Islamic. They don't do that anymore nowadays. Still, this is a good place to visit.
How to get there: Tugu Negara is located near the Malaysian House of Parliament and across the Lake Garden. The best way to get there is to take a taxi, no matter how horrendous the traffic jam may be. Entrance is free.
Muzium Tentera Udara Diraja Malaysia
The second location, Muzium TUDM or Royal Malaysian Air Force Museum has a fair collection of aircrafts being displayed. There were some in the hangar and the rest out in the open field. I didn't know much about aircrafts, but I enjoyed the exhibits just fine.
How to get there: The museum is located in the RMAF Base complex. Some security obligations are necessary, but you can park free inside the museum compound. Entrance is free and photography is permitted.
Note: Muzium TUDM is due to be relocated to Sendayan, Negeri Sembilan. I'm not sure how long the museum is still going to be there.
The treasure hunt event was smooth, and we did pretty well. Above all that, I'm certainly more aware of our patriots and some interesting locations to bring my friends to. It's been a fun day.
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