Page 22 - My FlipBook

Right beside the “Batu Seremban” players, a line of students was playing “Tapak
Gajah” (Elephant’s Footprint). In this traditional Malay game, you stand on two coconut
shells that are tied to strings. The aim is to try and walk to the other side while on the
coconut shells by holding onto the strings tightly. Since the coconuts are round and the
strings are thin, succeeding requires a good sense of balance. Some students executed
each step with ease, others looked like they were “waddling”. All in all, everyone had a
good time trying their hand at these traditional games.
Meanwhile, other students were carrying stacks of chairs for the teachers, who
wore matching shades of pink, to sit on. Classes slowly started filing into the basketball
court, sitting down at their assigned places. Others from higher levels watched the
opening ceremony from the corridors.
After a long wait, the much-anticipated Malay Month Opening Ceremony finally
began! First came a speech by the Vice Principal, Madam Koo Lai Ping.
In her speech, Madam Koo expressed her excitement and happiness as all
KCians got to reunite after more than two years’ lack of physical activities, ever since
the COVID-19 pandemic started. She was grateful to the teachers from the Malay
Department for making this Malay Month a success, with lots of interesting activities,
including Congkak and comic drawing competitions. She hopes that students’ interest
in Malay will increase and they will master this national language of ours better. Madam
Koo continued to remind all students that learning Malay is our responsibility, not only
to be used as a tool in exams. Therefore, we should grab the golden opportunity to join
the various competitions and games held throughout the Malay Month. As the Malay
Tapak Gajah, a Traditional Malaysian Game
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saying goes, “Tak kenal maka tak cinta” (Without knowing we will not love), we should
stay interested and work hard to master the Malay language. Madam Koo also further
emphasised her thankfulness to all teachers and students who helped organise this
activity to end her speech.
Afterwards, students from Sr3ScA impressed us with a singing and dancing perf
ormance called “Gemuruh”. Although their costumes were as simple as pink T-shirts and
jeans, they had made the performance incredibly outstanding with their clean and neat
steps. According to Miss Aisyah, they sacrificed their mid-year holiday to practise and
rehearse for the performance. Indeed, all their hard work paid off as they had successfully
pulled off a super energised performance which can be proven by the thunderous round
of applause given by the audience.’
The performance was carried on by another song called “Sahabat”. During the
performance, the performers as well as the audience clapped with the rhythm. The most
exciting part was the rapping part as the rapper walked around and kept the audience
engaged. This managed to bring enjoyment and fun to all. As a creative ending, they
raised black and white boards which formed the word “KC”.
The ceremony ended perfectly and the students lined up and returned to their
respective classrooms with broad smiles. At the same time, the performers took a big
group photo with the teachers. Overall, through the Malay Month, we hope that students
are able to love, enjoy and explore the beauty of the Malay language as well as enhance
their proficiency in it.
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