The national flower of Malaysia is the Bunga Raya (Chinese Hibiscus, Hibiscus rosa-sinensis).

This bright red example blossoms forth on one of the plantings around Malaysia’s National Monument in Kuala Lumpur.

The monument (below, right), a sculpture to commemorate those who died in Malaysia’s struggle for freedom, principally against the Japanese occupation during World War II and the Malayan Emergency (1948 until 1960), is said to be the world’s tallest bronze freestanding sculpture grouping.

The monument was designed by Felix Weihs de Weldon (1907-2003), an Austrian-born American sculptor whose most famous piece is the United States Marine Corps War Memorial (“Iwo Jima”).

(Photos ©2014 by Susan McKee)