KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 1 — The 2023 National Day parade at Dataran Putrajaya yesterday drew crowds of people.

And there were definitely crowd favourites: One of them being the Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba) contingent.

Through various videos circulating on social media, groups of muscular ‘Abang Bomba’ on top of fire engines were seen leaving the crowds in a frenzy as they flexed their muscles, throwing heart-shaped gestures while also holding up placards with pick-up lines.

Amongst the pick-up lines included ‘Abang Bomba loves you’, ‘Abang Bomba loves you tightly’ as well as ‘Yes, the fire is hot but all of you kept us cool’.

Another video shared on TikTok by user intannaurah also showed another group of Abang Bomba throwing flowers to the crowds.

On social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, user Fazzlii shared a video of the march where the crowds were heard cheering on for the Bomba team.

"Here’s your Abang Bomba for this year. Everyone went hysterical as soon as the Abang Bomba passed through,” user Fazzlii tweeted.

"Nobody does it like Abang Bomba for real. A plus for fan service,” tweeted user Aisya Zainal.

According to New Straits Times, other highlights from the Bomba contingent included handling a live boa python as well as their famous canine companions that stood on floats to greet the crowd.

Communication and Digital minister Fahmi Fadzil via X shared that 17,000 people from various departments took part in the parade with crowds gathering at the Dataran Putrajaya as early as 7pm the night before.