#merdeka

COMMENT | No better place to start than our national obsession - food.

UPDATED 11.50AM | 'Let us all appreciate the peace and prosperity that we have enjoyed all this while.'

COMMENT | The last thing anyone should do is to shoot the messenger.

UPDATED 1.11PM | Present in Putrajaya were the King and Queen, the Cabinet, foreign dignitaries, and Malaysians from all age.

COMMENT | 'History repeats itself, and nowhere is this more evident than in Malaysia.'

LETTER | These have to be done now for the sake of the nation.

 The people should realise how blessed the country is, says PM in his Merdeka Day message.                   

King, PM and cabinet members record song in celebration of Merdeka.

LETTER | Only by national unity with the spirit of love and patriotism can we strategise for growth and progress in the nation.

People have nothing to gain by following those who preach national division through racial and religious extremism, he says.

COMMENT | True Merdeka can only be achieved when the two Rs (race & religion) are consigned to the dustbin.

ADUN SPEAKS | No race or religion will win if the country burns to the ground, everyone will lose.

LETTER | We hope and pray for a truly transformed nation, where mutual respect of one another is the norm.

The prime minister releases a video of a short history lesson in the run-up to Merdeka.

UPDATED 11.50AM | On the flipside, survey finds 60 percent are familiar with other religions and cultures.

LETTER | For nationalism to be progressive and productive, it has to be outward-looking.

'Every time you expect the leaders to behave in a reasonable fashion, some let you down so badly'.

LETTER | Let us all aspire for a better Malaysia.

High school students in Selayang arrange a Jalur Gemilang made from coconut shells, gravel, and ecobricks.

M'sians are divided down the middle on the issue of single-stream education, with resistance strongest among Chinese respondents.

COMMENT | "Think Malaysian – we do not have anything to lose except our mental chains."

The people's ability to coexist peacefully is the most important value of Independence, he adds.

The ceremony was officiated by the PM, and saw the attendance of the Malacca CM, ministers and state excos.