On Monday, under a breezy picnic shelter surrounded by Malaysian flags, more than 100 ISU Malaysian students gathered at Brookside Park in Ames to celebrate the first New Merdeka-Raya. The event was highlighted by a bevy of Malaysian cuisine, games, mingling and group photographs, but underneath all this, the day represented much more.

Recently, a Chicago-based organization known as Education Malaysia, which oversees Malaysian students studying in the Midwest, decided to help the Association of Malaysian Students at ISU organize and carry out the first New Merdeka-Raya. The phrase “new Merdeka-Raya” has three separate meanings that made the event possible.

First, the word “new” is meant to draw in all new Malaysian students who are in their first year at Iowa State. Merdeka is the Malaysian word for independence; the country just celebrated its 44th anniversary Wednesday. Finally, Raya, or Eid, refers to the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan that is celebrated by 60 percent of Malaysia’s citizens.

Together, all three of these words and their meanings coincide for the Association of Malaysian Students at ISU to set up a gathering to bring Malaysian students at Iowa State together.

“This is the first time we have gathered all three races of Malaysia,” said the event’s director Laila Ali, graduate student in human development and family studies. “In Malaysia there are Malay, Chinese and Indian populations. But today we are all Malaysian.”

During colonization by the British, large amounts of Chinese and Indians were brought from the mainland to Malaysia to work and eventually became part of the Malaysian culture, despite their ethnic differences.

“All of the Indian, Malay, Chinese students have a close connection to their home culture, but they all celebrate together. All of us are united. We all consider ourselves Malaysian,” said Malaysian student Ariff Muhamad, sophomore in aerospace engineering.

Muhamad explained how many of the Indian, Chinese and Malay students who come to Iowa State, despite all being from Malaysia, are usually drawn to only mingle with other Indian, Chinese and Malay students. However, the timing of the beginning of the school year, Malaysian Independence Day and the end of Ramadan all culminated into the perfect excuse to bring all three groups of students together to meet other Malaysian students, show their Malaysian pride and celebrate together.

“We are one Malaysia,” said Gordon Chua, AMSISU treasurer and senior in mechanical engineering. “I am definitely looking forward to it next year.”