PUTRAJAYA: Despite his busy schedule with training and duties as a member of the army, Staff Sergeant Mad Zain Medol is an accomplished fire breather.
And he will be displaying his talent at the 2021 National Day and Malaysia Day celebrations at the National Heroes Square on Aug 31.
Known as the “fire dragon”, the 38-year-old Sabahan, who is heading the Malaysian Armed Forces Armour Corps Band for the combined drumline event, said he hopes his act will add to the excitement.
The virtual National Day celebration themed “Malaysia Prihatin” will be aired on Aug 31. It will be telecast live and streamed via the Merdeka360 and the Communications and Multimedia Ministry’s Facebook pages.
Sharing his experience as a fire-breathing performer, Mad Zain said the skill requires boldness as blowing kerosene at a fire can cause burns.
“I actually learned through my mistakes,” he told Bernama during rehearsals.
According to Mad Zain, he picked up the skill before joining the army, and when he was recruited into the service in 2003, it became a platform for him to further hone his skill and display his talent.
The father of three is not only a hero to his children, but has impressed his colleagues, too.
“In the armed forces, there are various courses, so I took the opportunity to attend the relevant ones and also shared my knowledge with the personnel of other teams,” he said.
The six-minute armed forces drumline combines a band performance with Mad Zain’s flame breathing.
A total 128 members of the Royal Malaysian Navy, Royal Malaysian Air Force, the Army and other uniformed agencies are involved.
Mad Zain, who is also the drum major, will be leading the band and doing the fire breathing.
He said they have been practising for a month now to ensure a flawless performance.According to him, the combined armed forces drumline will feature patriotic songs and a taekwondo demonstration, too.
Mace thrower and band member, Navy Warrant II Officer, Azumu Zainal, 40, said he has been training hard as well.
“Training is necessary because during the performance, we want to avoid dropping the mace,” he said, pointing to the injuries on his neck.
The Rukun Negara Pledge this year will be led by Senior Fire Superintendent II, Siti Farizun Naim, 33.
She said she will be one of eight frontliners reading the pledge, representing the entire uniformed corps serving the country during the Covid-19 pandemic. — Bernama
