London, England. 11.30 am 11th June 2008.
I got to witness The First Batallion of the Royal Malay Army Regiment (Batalion Pertama Rejimen Askar Melayu) at the Changing of the Guard ceremony at Buckingham Palace. As I was waiting and snapping pictures to check my camera settings I started clicking on a Rolls Royce which just pulled into the gates. It was the Queen! I couldn't believe it! A great start to the day!
As my excitement grew the British band marched in. I couldn't wait. Then I heard a familiar song. A marching band was approaching and it was playing an old Malay song. I couldn't remember the name of the song but I knew the Malay Regiment was arriving.
As the ceremony started I felt proud to be there. Thousands of miles away from our homeland, our young men look good in their Baju Melayu, sampin and songkok. Those guys made Malaysia look good.
At the end of the ceremony I followed the band down the road. They were playing a song that made the hair on my neck stand up. I heard a song I haven't heard in a long time. I did some digging on the internet and I found the lyrics. I had tears in my eyes when I sang this song again.
Inilah barisan kita,
Yang ikhlas berjuang,
Siap sedia berkorban,
Untuk ibu pertiwi!
Sebelum kita berjaya,
Jangan harap kami pulang,
Inilah sumpah pendekar kita,
Menuju medan bakti!
Andai kata kami gugur semua,
Taburlah bunga di atas pusara,
Kami mohon doa,
Malaysia berjaya!
Semboyan telah berbunyi,
Menuju medan bakti!
If you've forgotten how the song goes HERE it is.
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