I didn't realise that the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, had started at four o'clock this morning. I was still sleeping blissfully and was feeling a bit crestfallen when I found out. Opening ceremonies of these Games are always something special and I had missed this one! No other choice but for me to watch the replay of the opening ceremony.
It made me proud to be a Malaysian when I saw the Malaysian contingent come walking into the stadium. But what was this I noticed? First, the flag-bearer was carrying the Malaysian flag at half-mast in remembrance of our 43 brothers and sisters who died in the air crash in eastern Ukraine. Never before had I seen this happen. Second, as a tribute and solidarity behind Malaysian Airline, the contingent was led by seven Malaysian athletes wearing the airline's uniforms. And third, the rest of the contingent wore black armbands. In case the world has forgotten, it was our MAS Flight MH017 that crashed.
And later when the Commonwealth Games flag was brought into the stadium by six athletes, my heart skipped another beat when I noticed none other than Nicol David holding one of the flag's corners. There can only be one Nicol David and naturally, Penang is terribly proud of her achievements.
There was also a one-minute silence that the whole stadium, including the spectators, observed in memory of the 298 passengers and crew that had perished when MH017 was brought down by a BUK missile in Ukrainian airspace on 17 July 2014. God rest their souls.
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