Yours truly was over at the Terminal Putra in Gombak at 10am where there was already a group of people all in various state of sarong outfits…some wore their sarongs as sash, some wore it as a head gear, some wore it as a skirt, some wore those which have been made into pants, skirts, shirts etc..

It was definitely eye catching and curious passerbys must have been surprised and wondering what was going on. 

Were we having some kind of demonstration or could it be some illegal gathering?

Illegal? I think not, but demonstration, yes, we were there to demonstrate our love for our country, Malaysia, thus the hashtag #sayangmalaysia

I was glad to see a couple of familiar faces which were Gaya Travel magazine’s chief editor, Juhan and also our media friend from Bandung, Mas Eka, who took the trouble to fly over to join us for this event…

We then followed the group on the LRT to Masjid Jamek where we convened and waited for other participants to arrive from their various different starting points such as Subang, Puchong Prima, Ampang and Bandar Utama (MRT). There were plenty of photos and patriotic songs were sang, but well, this is also in conjunction with Malaysia Day…

Keretapi Sarong 2017 is a joint venture between LOCCO (Local Companion), who actually began in all way back in UK and Europe when the founder was studying there.. and Gaya Travel Magazine and supported by the Ministry of Tourism and Culture (MOTAC)

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There were easily more than 1000 participants from the tourism industry, members of the media, bloggers, volunteers, kids and also tourists who donned our local sarong to get onboard the trains (LRT/MRT)

The programme had been shared over social media and it is a gimmick that is highlighting and promoting the Malaysian sarong as one of the unique cultural elements of Malaysia…

From Masjid Jamek, the whole group of participants then made their way to the National Museum where food and drinks were served and more activities awaited such dancing, and also the best dressed individual, best dressed couple, family were awarded… Prizes included a two night stay at a luxurious resort in Luang Prabang..

The event was of course officiated by The Minister of Tourism and Culture, YB Dato’ Seri Mohamed Nazri Bin Abdul Aziz and other ministers.