KUALA LUMPUR: A seven-year-old boy's tank, constructed from scratch using a bicycle for a school competition to celebrate the 67th Independence Day, has received widespread attention and praise from the public.
The tank, which was the brainchild of Uwais Alqarni Abd Rahim, was inspired by his admiration for the military and its role in maintaining the nation's security, as well as his aspiration to pursue that profession when he grows up.
The tank was brought to life by his parents, Aisyah Hamat and Abd Rahim Hassan, both 44 years old, to fulfil their youngest son's dream of participating in the competition.
"It was so much fun. It felt like I was driving a real tank and being a real soldier since I was also wearing a military uniform.
"I feel proud to drive a tank, and my friends were cheering and praising how cool it was.
"A lot of people watched the video of me driving the tank on TikTok and I feel excited," said Uwais Alqarni when contacted.
He also expressed his appreciation towards his parents' for helping him built the tank, despite it being made of used boxes.
His mother, Aisyah, said the tank was made at the last minute, just a day before the competition as they initially thought that their son would not participate as he was unwell for several days.
She added that they fulfilled their son's wish to join the competition with enthusiasm and Uwais Alqarni even helped them complete the creation.
"We used only items we had at home, like used boxes, stickers, cable ties and water bottles. We spray-painted the tank black and green, with brown accents from the box to make it look like a real tank.
"We did it just for fun for our son and he even helped us finish the tank. He recovered from fever as soon as he got his 'tank' because he's really interested in the military," she said.
Aisyah added that Uwais Alqarni won first place in the competition and received RM100 cash as a prize.
"We have always encouraged our children to participate in Merdeka activities because, to me, the spirit of independence needs to be instilled and nurtured in this way from a young age.
"It can be said that every year all the children take part in activities at school or kindergarten, (but) we did not expect Uwais Alqarni to get so much attention because of the tank."