"Teratak Gemilang" - A Reflection of Mohd Halikin's patriotism
05 Sep 2022 09:53am
Mohd Halikin said he was inspired to paint his house with the pattern and colours of the Jalur Gemilang to reflect his appreciation for the country’s independence. - Bernama Photo
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For that. the house, which was located on a hill at Batu 15, Jalan Labuk, here, which he named Teratak Gemilang, stands out from others and has become an attraction since 18 years ago, with the 64-year-old businessman having no intention at all to change its look.
Mohd Halikin said he was inspired to paint his house with the pattern and colours of the Jalur Gemilang to reflect his appreciation for the country’s independence knowing the hard life of those living during the colonial era through stories told to him by his parents.
"Before that (house painted with the Jalur Gemilang colours), I always had the Jalur Gemilang and the Sabah state flag hoisted in the compound of the house during the National month.
"It was in 2004 that the idea of having the house painted in Jalur Gemilang colours came to mind. I was looking at it (house), which was painted all white then and then told myself, why not have red stripes on it like the Jalur Gemilang.
"That was how it started and I painted the roof with blue and also yellow for the crescent and star symbols,” he said when met by Bernama at his house recently.
Mohd Halikan's patriotic spirit is not only reflected by the colours of his house, as the living room in the house is decorated with portraits of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and the Raja Permaisuri Agong, the Yang Dipertuan Negeri of Sabah and his wife, as well as the portraits of all the Malaysian prime ministers since Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj.
On the wall of his living room, there is also a black and white photo of a meeting between first Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman and 20 leaders of North Borneo in Kuala Lumpur on Oct 9, 1961 to explain the plan for the establishment of Malaysia.
According to Mohd Halikan, the picture was from a newspaper which he read while on a Malaysia Airlines flight to Saudi Arabia to perform umrah in 2005.
He asked permission from a crew onboard to have the newspaper and when he returned home, got the picture enlarged and then framed it.
Mohd Halikin said he felt appreciated when passers-by and travellers stopped by his house to watch his collection.
In honour of great statesmen like Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Mohd Halikin said he named two of his seven children after them.
"As Malaysians, we should maintain the country’s independence and harmonious living. If we lose it, it will be difficult to get back,” he said. - BERNAMA
