KUANTAN - A two-month effort to accumulate used fabric in colours of white, red, blue and yellow was not in vain as the stitch in time was a gigantic Jalur Gemilang fluttering from a tower about 16 metres high at the Pahang Malaysian Civil Defence Force (APM) building in Jalan Beserah here today.
The giant flag, measuring 4m wide and 15m long and hoisted on the rescue training tower, was produced in conjunction with the 2023 National Day and is a joint effort between Pahang APM, the Kuantan District Education Office (PPD) and the Pahang Health Department, in addition to the finishing touches of 164 students from 15 schools in that area.
Pahang APM Col (PA) Che Adam A. Rahman said the idea of manufacturing the giant flag was sparked through a discussion between Pahang APM and Kuantan District Education Office (PPD) in April, when at that time they were looking for something different in an effort to make the younger generation participate in fuelling patriotism for the National Month celebration.
"When it was agreed to produce a huge Jalur Gemilang, the operation to find used fabric began. The first challenge was to ensure that the colours of the fabric suited the flag seen from a distance.
Various types of cloth were accepted such as shirts, attire, baju kurung and children’s clothes, in total, three car-loads of fabric were gathered before being separated according to colour and suitability,” he said after the flag-raising of the mammoth task to launch the National Month in a ceremony held today.
Che Adam said the sewing process to stitch all the pieces of fabric started last Monday using three sewing machines at the Pahang APM office with mostly students involved, impatiently waiting for each section to fall into place as it was their first involvement in such an activity.
"The most complicated part was definitely the star motif because the arrangement had to be neat to ensure that all 14 points are the same size, besides that there are also some seams in other parts including the stripes part that needs to be opened and re-stitched because it would not be neat otherwise, since the majority of us are new to sewing.
"It was also a bit of a rush for us to complete the flag in a short time when there was sewing to be re-done again and the stitching operation was only carried out from morning to evening,” he said, adding that the flag will be flown until the celebration of Malaysia Day on Sept 16.
As for a student of SMK Abdul Rahman Talib here, Andrew Tan, 19, he admitted that he was proud to witness the flag-raising event because he was aware that the Jalur Gemilang ‘had its contribution’ through the red and white stripes, through the cloth collected with the help of families and friends.
Tan, who is also a member of the Civil Defence School Cadets (Kaspa), added that he did his best to find old, non-patterned cloth to fit the flag motif.
"On my end, I found a plain white laboratory coat that was discarded because it was dirty while the red colour was a baju kurung,” said the youngest of the two brothers.
Tan said the process of piecing together all the pieces of cloth was ‘the most memorable part’ because he was able to forge new friendships with cadets from other school Kaspa corps. - BERNAMA