PUTRAJAYA, July 14 — National Day and Malaysia Day this year will be celebrated with a difference.

One of the highlights is a National Day Buffet and the other is the participation of Mt Kinabalu mountain guides in the National Day procession, said Communications and Multimedia Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Shabery Cheek.

For the National Day Buffet, selected hotels nationwide would make available the special buffet spread from Aug 28 to Sept 16 and the hotels would be decorated in accordance with the National Day theme: #sehatisejiwa, he said.

“The hotels will be allowed to use their creativity to decorate their premises, so long as they adhere to the theme,” he told a news conference after chairing a meeting of the 2015 National Day and Malaysia Day Celebrations Committee at his office here.

Ahmad Shabery said the hotel operators and hoteliers association had volunteered to host the buffet, with support from the Tourism and Culture Ministry.

He said 24 events had been scheduled to celebrate this year’s National Day and Malaysia Day, beginning with the launch of ‘Independence Month’ and Fly the National Flag campaign on Aug 8 at the Padang Merdeka in Kuching.

The events likely to give a major impact to the celebrations were the #sehatisejiwa Run; #sehatisejiwa KL Garden Festival and the National Day Sales from Aug 29 to 31 at shopping malls throughout the country, he said.

Ahmad Shabery said more than 10,000 terraced seats would be provided at Dataran Merdeka for spectators of the National Day parade, besides bigger LED screens at specific locations. 

The seats and LED screens would enable the public to view the parade and performances in greater comfort, he added. Previously, terraced seats were provided only for VIPs and special guests.

“The presence of the Mt Kinabalu mountain guides will give recognition to their bravery in the face of danger,” he said.

These mountain guides became the talk of the town after several of them played a major role in the rescue of trapped climbers atop Mt Kinabalu during the June 5 earthquake in Sabah.  — Bernama