Flying the Malaysian Flag....

Malaysians in Japan just celebrated the Merdeka on 3rd September at the Malaysian Embassy in Shibuya, Tokyo. As Japan is a big country (population of 140 million vs Malaysia's 26million) and there are about 4,000 Malaysians scattered over Japan, it was impossible to gather everyone. So, most of the attendees were from the Tokyo area. I was the exceptional one from Niigata. So happened I made a trip to Tokyo.

And I was able to meet my flight-mate(=the person who sat next to me on my flight to Japan), See Tatt (next to me in the picture) , who is one of the 6 undergraduate for this year's Monbukagakusho Scholarship Award. It was indeed exciting to meet again, now that we were more familiar with the Japanese environment, and could share more things about our lives in Tokyo and Niigata.

It was a great opportunity to meet other Malaysians and see new faces. And of course, take a bite on some long awaited rendang chicken, sambal prawns and nasi lemak!

This year's Merdeka celebration is special to me, not only because I am observing this special day from overseas, but because I received a "special gift" a day after 31 August.

It was our graduation ceremony. That was it...our intensive Japanese language course has finally come to an end. We have graduated! And the special gift that I am talking about is the "Great Achiever's Award" which I was awarded during the graduation ceremony.

The normal certificate

The Great Achiever Award Certificate

Apparently, my overall scores were the highest in the class and it really came as a surprise to me. I never expected such recognition until my name was called out, because everyone in the class did excellently and I am sure the score differences were razor thin. There were 8 of us from different countries and at that moment of receiving the award, I felt really touched and proud that I have achieved something not only in paper terms, but also as a Malaysian representing the country. Thank God for everything!

I am 5th from left

For that, I was presented a class momento, our lecturer's own "limited edition" cup with the class picture printed on the surface, and a special certificate that has the words "Great Achiever's Award" in it.

I would never have imagined or even thought to be able to fly the Malaysian flag at such an appropriate time....