S.P. Narayanasamy still gets goose bumps talking about the eve of the independence celebrations at Dataran Merdeka as he was one of the first to hold the Malayan flag. The man, who was also responsible for leading MIC members in a parade before Tunku Abdul Rahman, took a trip down memory lane with SONIA RAMACHANDRAN.

S.P. Narayanasamy garlanding Tun V.T. Sambanthan (left) at a ceremony.

S.P. Narayanasamy says he was excited by the occasion.

KUALA LUMPUR: It was 10pm and the stage was set for the momentous occasion due to unfold at the playing field beside the (Royal) Selangor Club (the field now known as Dataran Merdeka).

He was dressed in a white shirt and a pair of blue short pants, and couldn’t wait for the festivities to begin.

It was the night of Aug 30, 1957, and S.P. Narayanasamy was about to witness the greatest moment of his life.

The then 22-year-old was filled with excitement as he was the one in charge of the MIC members taking part in the parade in front of then Malaya’s chief minister Tunku Abdul Rahman that night.
It was also the night where Tunku would become the prime minister at the stroke of midnight.

"The celebration that night was for two purposes. One was to welcome independence and the other was to honour Tunku with the title Bapa Tanah Air.

"I don’t know how the term was later changed to Bapa Kemerdekaan," said Narayanasamy, 72.

He remembers that the whole field and roads, as far as the eye could see, being flooded with people of all races and from all walks of life.

"It was, after all, the first time we were going to experience an independent Malaya and we were so excited.

"Unity then was also more prevalent compared with now. We were there together waiting to usher in our new nation.

"I felt very great as we realised a very great thing was about to happen.

"We had such hopes and vision for the country that was about to be born," said Narayanasamy, who was a bank officer with the Indian Bank then.

The gathering, said Narayanasamy, was organised by Alliance party leaders, namely, Omar Ong Yoke Lin (now Tun), the Selangor Alliance chairman Abdul Aziz Ishak and former MIC president (its fourth president from 1951-1955) K.L. Devaser.

"The stage was where the fountain is now and Tunku and the other Alliance leaders were standing on that stage."

For the parade, MIC was represented by 35 members from the youth and women’s wing, while from the MCA and Umno there were more than 50 members each, said Narayanasamy.

"I was the MIC deputy national youth leader then and I was in charge of the MIC members taking part that night. So all the MIC members in the parade were under me."

Also on the agenda was the presentation of a gold medallion, consisting of the emblems of all the Malayan states to Tunku.

That was when trouble almost broke out.

"The youth leaders were discussing who was going to carry the medallion on a flower-laden tray to Tunku.

"Some of the MCA youth leaders said that since MIC had not contributed any money, only the MCA and Umno youth should be the ones to carry the tray," said Narayanasamy.

Objecting to this, Narayanasamy took the matter to then MIC Selangor secretary A. Tharmalingam (later Tan Sri and who passed away recently), who took it up with Ong, Abdul Aziz and Devaser.

"They then finally agreed that a youth member from all three parties should hold the tray and take it up to the stage. I proposed Kamatchie Devar, the sister of Puan Sri Janaky Athi Nahappan (a retired senator and wife of the late Tan Sri Athi Nahappan who was a minister in the Prime Minister’s Department)."

Then the awaited moment arrived. As the clock at the clock tower started to chime, Narayanasamy and the other parade leaders from Umno and MCA stood together holding the brand new Malaya flag.

They then passed the flag to the three state leaders: Aziz, Omar and Tharmalingam.

"We were all standing to attention when the flag was hoisted and Tunku was standing on the stage together with then MIC president V.T. Sambanthan (later Tun) and then MCA president Colonel H.S. Lee (later Tun). Then we marched about nine metres and saluted the Tunku."

Narayanasamy still remembers how the air reverberated with shouts of "Merdeka!", followed by that of "Bapa Tanah Air".

"We then gathered in front of the stage to listen to the leaders deliver their speeches."

After the leaders had left and the celebrations had died down, the revellers continued to hang around the field and by 8am the next day, they had all walked to Stadium Merdeka for the official Merdeka celebrations.

Narayanasamy, who did the same with his five siblings, recalls seeing the representative of Queen Elizabeth II, the Duke of Gloucester and former high commissioner to Malaya, Sir Donald MacGillivray, in their fine headgear.

"The crowd was unbelievable. It was two to three times the size of the one at the field. Then I saw Tunku raising his hand and his shouts of Merdeka reverberated through the stadium.

"We were all so excited as we felt the white man was returning something precious back to us.

"Joy was etched on every face of those present that day, irrespective of race or creed.

"I will never forget that day. It was the greatest event I have ever seen," he said.