Yes, there will still be fireworks for Merdeka, thanks to private sector

The government’s conservative allocation of RM20 million for the 51st Merdeka celebrations will not deprive Malaysians of a fireworks display, thanks to the private sector.

A Unity, Culture, Arts and Heritage Ministry statement said the fireworks display at the stroke of midnight at Dataran Merdeka will be sponsored by Am Bank Bhd.

Several companies had also contributed RM400,000 for the independence celebrations secretariat namely Petronas, Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB), ExxonMobil, Shell Malaysia Bhd, CIMB Group, Maybank, YTL Cement Bhd, Celcom, Maxis and Digi.

“The contributions showed that the private sector is mindful of its social responsibility to the country,” said the statement.

Several religious ceremonies will also be held simultaneously across the country starting tomorrow.
Muslims will start the Merdeka celebrations with recital of the “Yaasin"

verse from the Quran and special prayers to be attended by Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin and several leaders.

The Merdeka eve celebrations “Ambang Merdeka” will be held on Saturday at three venues - Dataran Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC) and Bukit Bintang.

The celebrations at KLCC will be organised by Petronas while the ones at Dataran Merdeka and Bukit Bintang will be coordinated by Pak Ngah Productions.