Friday 17 September 2010

Penang's largest Malaysian flag?

Anyone observant enough who crosses the Penang Bridge from the island to the mainland would not be able to miss the sight of a huge Malaysian flag flapping away in the far distant Prai industrial estate. I mean, if you are still five or six kilometres away from the mainland and you see a flag towering grandly above all the buildings around it and basically, dominating the view, you can guess how big the flag would be when viewed close at hand.

Curiosity got the better of me and I resolved to find out where this proud Jalur Gemilang was flapping from. Turned out that the flagpole had been erected on top of the tallest building in the Johor Bahru Flour Mill Sdn Bhd compound. Seen close, it was of breath-taking dimensions.


And this morning, I contacted the company. Seems that they have been flying this flag only since the start of the year. It's not a permanent feature; the flag only goes up during special occasions like Chinese New Year or Governor's birthday because they are concerned about exposing the flag too much to the wind, sun and rain. It's expensive material, the company claimed. So enjoy it while you can!

I was told that the flag itself measures 40 feet by 80 feet. The flagpole itself is about 30 metres from base to tip, not that long but since it's mounted on top of the company's highest building, that makes it quite high up in the sky.


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