Every year on the eve of Merdeka, central Kuala Lumpur will be brimming with thousands of people partying outdoors to the upbeat sounds of their favorite bands while they wait for the clock to strike midnight. This is the moment when everyone present will shout in unison "Merdeka! Merdeka! Merdeka!" on top of their lungs as they watch fireworks take off and fill Pthe midnight sky with amazing displays of colorful sparks and majestic, echoing booms bouncing off the high-rises of KL (all of this while hysterically waving miniature versions of Jalur Gemilang, the Malaysian flag, of course.)

After gaining independence from the British in 1957, Malaysia celebrated its 45th year of Merdeka this year on August 31 with two significantly huge concerts taking place, namely "Konsert Suria Merdeka" at Kuala Lumpur City Center Park and "Merdeka on Tone" at Bintang Walk.

So who was at the KLCC concert?
Konsert Suria Merdeka featured many local artists such as Francisca Peters, Jay Jay, M. Nasir, Exists, Dayang Nurfaizah and Amy Mastura, who each sang about 3-4 songs plus one patriotic song modified to suit their own image and music genre. Malaysia's favorite English-hip-hop duo Too Phat also made an appearance at the end of the concert with 3 songs: Boogie Down, Anak Ayam (Freak to the Beat) and Clap 2 This. Malique and Joe displayed an incredible amount of energy on stage with their continuous jumping and rapid, almost-perfect African-American style of rapping. They were also backed up by their DJ, whom you could hear and see scratching records away in the background, and breakdancers dressed in red, B-Boys, who jumped, twisted and spinned on their backs and heads, attracting screams of approval and claps from the crowd. "Gila, Too Phat keren banget!" someone exclaimed in Bahasa Indonesia. The comment came from Ninda, a Too Phat fan from Jakarta who had just moved to Kuala Lumpur. This was her first time seeing Too Phat: "Asli, gue seneng sekali sama mereka," chirped the lucu 14-year-old who just could not stop smiling.

And at Bintang Walk...?
Meanwhile nearby KLCC at Bintang Walk, Malaysians and their friends were enjoying lively performances from other local bands such as OAG, Butterfingers, Love Me Butch, Teh Tarik Crew, Gerhana Ska Cinta and Spacebar. There were also appearances from other non-Malaysian artists such as Singapore's Urban Exchange and Indonesia's very own Padi. Many Indonesian music fans were present to watch this cool Surabaya-born band take the stage as vocalist Fadly and gang crooned Mahadewi, Sesuatu Yang Terindah, Kasih Tak Sampai, Bayangkan, Begitu Indah, and Sobat. They also did not forget to present the song that was included in the 2002 FIFA World Cup album, Work of Heaven. Padi's performance was smooth albeit the occasion where Fadly and guitarist Piyu’s guitar strings snapped. The situation was quickly rectified and the show moved on smoothly. "Padi rocks! Gile best show diorang!" shouted Ili, a native from Kajang and an Indonesian music fan who was also present at Bintang Walk.

"Negaraku, tanah tumpahnya darahku...!"
So what did our artists do to our national anthem this year? Well, while Love Me Butch was entertaining the Bintang Walk crowd with their own punk-rock-version of Negaraku (a modification that had some people raising eyebrows), KLCC concert-goers were treated to one sang slowly yet beautifully by Dayang Nurfaizah, R&B style with no background music. The altered Negaraku, which was sung at midnight, reminded me of something the Americans would let Anne Murpy do with their national anthem on their Independence Day. National songs sung by female artists with powerful, moving voices will stop at nothing short in making your chest swell with pride of your nationality and bring about goosebumps of patriotism.

"Kok Too Phat, bukan Padi?"
I asked Ninda why she didn't opt to go watch Padi at Bintang Walk instead of Too Phat at KLCC, after I found out that she was also a Sobat Padi (a.k.a. Padi fan). "Yah gwe udah nonton Padi berkali-kali donk di Jakarta, sekarang kan harus nonton Too Phat di KL," she laughed. I saw Ninda's eyes glistened madly with admiration while watching Too Phat perform. She had the same look on her face that I had when I watched Dewa for the first time at Hard Rock Cafe Jakarta earlier this year, you know, the "goofy-gaga" look. So after Too Phat was done, I took her backstage to meet them for pictures and autographs. Someone's smile almost doubled in length!

Taking photographs of the concert was a challenge as I had to risk soaking a very expensive, 6-Megapixel digital SLR camera to the merciless rain that drizzled all night. It was either that or lose some great shots of the performers in action. The rain also soaked the crowd of people to their skins and bones (and socks and shoes!) but it did not dampen the strong, united, partying spirit that was with everyone that night. Hopefully everyone remembered to shower before they sleep last night to avoid getting demam!

Indonesia and Malaysia unite with music
The presence of Indonesian artists in Malaysia during the month of Merdeka is certainly a comforting indication that our relations with the neighboring country are baik sekali, despite the political tensions that have arisen due to the recent issues of the deportation of illegal TKIs (tenaga kerja [buruh] Indonesia) in Malaysia. Sheila on 7 was also here not too long ago to promote their latest album 07 Des and they also performed on Indonesia’s Hari Kebangsaan ( 17/8 ) at the Kuala Lumpur Indonesian Embassy for all Indonesians working and living in Malaysia and their friends as well.

Wouldn't it be great if our political elders could take example from the younger generation in maintaining prosperous bilateral relations between the two serumpun countries that share so much history and culture together?