PETALING JAYA, Aug 17 — Sergeant Major Osman Awang Ahmad felt that he had to do something “big” to lift the spirits of his fellow countrymen as the country approached its 63rd Merdeka day.
So, Osman, who is the Officer in-Charge of Station of the Pertang Police Station in Simpang Pertang, Jelebu, decided to take the “fly the flag” phrase literally by creating a giant Merdeka-themed wau bulan outside his police station.
kibarkan jalur gemilang? done ✅ salam from Balai Polis Pertang #merdeka63 #jalurgemilang
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The 57-year-old told Malay Mail in an interview that he was looking for an interesting and respectful way to “show his love” for his country, and hopefully bring smiles to those around the Simpang Pertang district.
“We only get to celebrate Merdeka once a year. So, I don’t think it’s wrong to show our national pride in this way. I think it’s noble,” said Osman.
“The wau is a national symbol and it can soar high through the skies. So, that’s why I thought of making a wau out of the Jalur Gemilang — to lift the spirits of all Malaysians higher.”
The wau bulan is a traditional floral-designed Malaysian kite, customarily used on the east coast, that got its name from the crescent moon-like shape on its lower section.
Osman, who has been a police officer for the past 39 years, added that he and his team of seven officers at the Pertang station put up the Jalur Gemilang wau last week.
Even though they made the entire 20ft x 20ft kite from scratch, Osman said that it only took them a little over a week to get it done.
“It took us around 10 days to complete it. We gathered the bamboo and made the frame for the kite in about five days. Then it took us another five days to stitch the 13 Jalur Gemilang flags on it,” he said.
However, after the Pertang police station’s giant kite started getting more attention in the town (as it would), many Malaysians began to question their Merdeka-themed decoration, citing that it was an improper use of the flag.
Osman said that it was never his intention to upset anyone, as he was merely looking for a new way to make everyone happy as we prepare to celebrate Merdeka this year during a global pandemic.
“We have seen some of the negative comments online, but we choose to take it as something like constructive criticism,” he said.
“People make shirts and songkok’s even with the Jalur Gemilang on it, to show their national pride. That’s why we made the wau. Our only intention is to show everyone how proud we are of our country.”
Osman added that they even made corrections to the wau after social media users advised them on the correct way to hang the Jalur Gemilang, after the officers made an earlier error.
He also said that the state assemblymen in Jelebu have shown their support for the police’s Merdeka-inspired creation, as they even came down to the station to show their thanks to Osman and his team for building the kite.
But there aren’t any plans to test the kite just yet, as Osman said that it was built just for aesthetic purposes.
“So far, we haven’t really thought about trying it out. When we made it, we just followed the design and shape of it for the frame, but not everything else. We didn’t add the weights on it. Without the weights on the wau, you won’t be able to fly it,” he said.
