Malaysia Day Celebration

by Allianz

Participants

Brig Jen (Rtd) Dato' Mohd Arshad b Mohd Raji

President of The National Patriots Association (Patriot), an NGO formed by military, police retirees and civilians above the age of 18 which aims to help unite Malaysians in harmony and in one voice. He is also a notable officer of the Royal Malay Regiment for the Malaysian Army with 33 years of commissioning his service in various capacities before his retirement in 1998.

Zakri Khir

Zakri Khir is the CEO of Allianz Malaysia Berhad and has nearly 30 years of experience in the insurance industry. Zakri is patriotic, has a genuine love for his country and believes Malaysia Day should be a much bigger celebration than Merdeka Day because of the significance the date holds. Of mixed parentage himself, he believes that unity is our strength, values he constantly strives to impart to employees. He feels he should have been a teacher, loves history and once you get him started on Malaysian history, he will dare you to challenge him. He says having sound knowledge and understanding of the past struggles of our forefathers can inculcate a sense of pride and belonging to the nation and unite Malaysians regardless of their colour or creed.

Haymasuthan Periasamy

Hayma is one of the inspirational Malaysian who did not let his hearing impairment to stop his passion in pursuing for photography. His strong determination has made him won a Gold Medal in the skills category of Photography Studio in International Abilympics France 2016. Abilympics (Olympics of Abilities) are vocational skills competitions specifically designed for disabled individuals or persons with disabilities to enable them to expose their unique talents. He sets to represent Malaysia in International Abilympics Moscow 2020.

Miri Adek

An orang asli student of SOLS Academy of Innovation who first started without knowing a word of English. In a span of 2 years, Miri mastered the language and is now an inspiring English teacher at SOLS Academy. She is also trained by the MyKasih Foundation to carry out Child Sexual Abuse Prevention workshops for Orang Asli communities.

Eddin Khoo Bu-Eng

A journalist, writer, poet and historian who has been deeply involved in preserving the heritage of Malay culture. His notable publications include selected writings by the Malaysian artist and critic Ismail Zain, Intermediations: Selected Writings on Art, and a book on traditional Malay Wood Carving, The Spirit of Wood, as well as a translation of poems into Malay, Sajak-Sajak by the American poet Christopher Merrill. He is currently a founder and director of Pusaka, a non-profit organization, that works to support the continuity and viability of traditional performance arts in Malaysia.

R. Nadeswaran

An award-winning veteran journalist who now contributes to news portals. He was best known for his bi-weekly “Citizen Nades” column for theSun, which has a reputation for “telling as it is” with his acerbic take on governance, corruption, transparency and lawmaking.