Our Paralympians have rewarded us with joy and delight, and now, it’s time for us to shower them with our love and appreciation.
Malaysia’s contingent of Paralympians is slated to arrive in Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) tomorrow (Thursday, 22nd September) at 3:05pm, and the public are invited to welcome them.
Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin revealed that the Paralympians will be ushered to the Bunga Raya Complex upon arrival. They will be greeted by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, his wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, and the family members’ of the Paralympians.
“They will then be brought to Kuala Lumpur at 5pm for a 10km parade in the city centre. This will be a golden heroes’ welcome. (…) I really need Malaysians to come out. If you say you care about the Paralympians and if you’re in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday afternoon, then please come out to celebrate them,” he continued.
The parade will begin in Jalan Tun Razak and end at around 7pm at the Paralympic Sports Excellence Centre in Kampung Pandan. En route, they will be making 2 stops: at KLCC (in front of Petronas Filharmonik Hall) and Jalan Bukit Bintang (in front of Pavilion’s water fountain). Each stop will last for around 15 minutes.
“They are deserving of this grand welcome, based on their extraordinary performance. These are the best results we have ever achieved in any Paralympic Games and this is also the first time we have won gold medals. This is also our way of showing our appreciation to them. The Olympians, they had the National Day parade. For our Paralympians, we decided to create a parade that will start at Jalan Tun Razak, just for them,” concluded Khairy.
The plane that will send our heroes home will also be given a water salute, a ritual where a vehicle travels under plumes of water expelled by one or more fire fighting vehicles. It is usually reserved to mark the retirement of a senior pilot, the first or last flight of an airline to an airport, or for other notable events.
If you happen to be in the area, or is free on Thursday, why not go say hi to our heroes? 🙂
Sources: The Star Online, New Straits Times.
