page_title: National Monument (Malaysia)
section_title: National Monument
hierarchical_section_title: National Monument (Malaysia) / History / National Monument
caption_attribution_description: English: KL Cenotaph Remembrance Sunday 13-Nov-2011. Brit Hi comm reads eulogy. Royal Malay Regiment buglers ready to play Last Post and Reveille
context_page_description: The National Monument is a sculpture that commemorates those who died in Malaysia's struggle for freedom, principally against the Japanese occupation during World War II and the Malayan Emergency, which lasted from 1948 until 1960. It is located in the Federal capital, Kuala Lumpur. The Malaysian Houses of Parliament is situated near the monument.
  It is the world's tallest bronze freestanding sculpture grouping. Every year on 31 July on Warriors' Day, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, the Prime Minister, and the heads of the Malaysian Armed Forces and the Royal Malaysia Police pay their respects to the fallen heroes by laying garlands at the monument.
context_section_description: The concept of a national monument was mooted by Malaysia's first Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman, who was inspired by the Marine Corps War Memorial during his visit to the United States in October 1960, before personally meeting Felix de Weldon for a favour to design the monument.
  Felix de Weldon contributed in creating Malaysia’s Tugu Negara (National Monument). He also designed the Iwo Jima Memorial located
  at Arlington, Washington DC.
  The National Monument was completed and officially opened on 8 February 1966, by Ismail Nasiruddin of Terengganu, then Yang di-Pertuan Agong. It was proclaimed a memorial park dedicated to the 11,000 people who died during the 12-year Malayan Emergency (1948–1960). Thereafter, a wreath-laying ceremony takes place at the monument every 31 July on Warriors Day. De Weldon was later conferred with the title Tan Sri, the Malaysian equivalent of a high-ranking knighthood.
  On 27 August 1975, the monument suffered extensive damage due to an explosion set off by a communist terrorist. It has since been restored to its original state with the renovated statues unveiled on 11 May 1977. A fence was then erected and the complex was declared a protected area between sunset and dawn. Every day at dawn, a soldier raises the national flag and lowers it at dusk.
  Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Jamil Khir Baharom has stated that from 2010, the Warriors' Day commemoration service would be held elsewhere after Malaysia's National Fatwa Council guidelines declared the statues "un-Islamic" and potentially idolatrous. Defence Minister Zahid Hamidi added that a new "Warrior's Square" would be built in the country's administrative capital Putrajaya. When asked why the decision was made only after almost four decades of celebrating Warriors' Day at the present site, Jamil evaded comment, saying "Alhamdulillah, we are serious in solving this issue". A similar sentiment would later be echoed in September 2016 by Harussani Zakaria, a Perak-based mufti, who declared that the construction of the monument had been a "big sin" and "idolatrous", because building monuments in the shape of humans was haram in Islam.
caption: Although Warriors' Day commemoration services are no longer officially held at the National Monument, Remembrance Day ceremonies continue to take place there. Pictured is Remembrance Sunday at the National Monument's cenotaph on 13 November 2011.
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