National Day logo important element to inculcate appreciation for independence

By Nurhafizah Tan

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 3 -- It was only 19 years after Malaysia gained its independence that logos were used for the National Day celebration, said Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Centre for Research in Media and Communication senior lecturer, Badrul Redzuan Abu Hassan.

He said the National Day logo was first created in 1976 with the theme “Ketahanan Rakyat” (People's Resilience).

Badrul Redzuan who had published an article with his fellow writer Sitinurbayu Mohd Yusoff entitled “Implikasi Komunikatif Logo Hari Kemerdekaan: Sebuah Nota Penyelidikan” said the official logo was introduced by the National Day Celebration Committee for that year.

“Malaysia is one of the countries that sees the logo as one of the important elements that can play a role in inculcating an appreciation for the country’s independence.

“Until today, a total of 38 logos have been designed with some of them being retained for several years such as the 1Malaysia logo which was used from 2009 to 2013,” he told Bernama.

Badrul Redzuan said based on his research conducted in 2014, initially, the National Day logo was created by a group of lecturers and students of Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) before a logo design competition was introduced in 1988 to encourage public participation in the celebrations.

“The winning logo will be chosen as the National Day official logo for that particular year, except in 1991 when the logo themed ‘Vision 2020’ was designed by an artist who is also UiTM senior lecturer Hashim Hassan,” he said.

He is of the view that a logo that has a patriotic element could be used as a platform to convey a message to the community and strengthen our national identity.

“A good National Day logo is one that is able to convey a message to the community, coupled with an attractive design and visual that carry the contemporary socio-cultural elements,” he said adding that the design should also be simple but easily remembered.

Citing the 2020 National Day logo which carries the theme “Malaysia Prihatin” or Malaysia Cares as an example, Badrul Redzuan described it as a successful translation of the country's current situation in the fight against COVID-19.

“The heart-shaped logo symbolises the concept of caring, love and empathy for Malaysians while the symbol of nationhood is displayed through the use of the Jalur Gemilang flag colours,” he said.

-- BERNAMA