Skip to main content

Malaysia Day

Malaysia Day - POP quiz: Is Malaysia 46 or 52? Historical facts show that the Federated Malay states gained independence on 31 Aug 1957. Thus, Malaya was freed from colonial rule 52 years ago. But the birth of Malaysia itself, when Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore joined the independent Malay states, took place on 16 Sept 1963. That makes the country 46 years old. Singapore left in 1965.

Quibbling over numbers is just a small part of the debate. The fact that Malaysia Day is not observed as a national event or public holiday like Merdeka is, is but one grievance about the peninsula’s neglect of Sabah and Sarawak. The neglect runs deeper than that, of course. It is political, demonstrated in uneven development and in the lack of protection of human rights. The plight of the Penan is one damning example of how minority groups in east Malaysia are treated.

In 1963, Malaysia’s formation would have fallen on 31 Aug to coincide with independence. However, more time was needed to announce a United Nations survey on whether the peoples of Sarawak and North Borneo, as Sabah was then called, wanted to join Malaysia. It is instructive to note that Sabah and Sarawak were admitted into Malaysia as a way to increase the ethnic composition of bumiputera: Malays and indigenous peoples.

Yet, East Malaysian leaders now lament that the lack of recognition given to 16 Sept is hampering genuine national unity. They contend that there has been little advancement of East Malaysians in the civil service, and that glaring economic disparities remain between Malay Malaysian bumiputera and non-Malay Malaysian bumiputera.

Other outstanding woes include the influx of illegal immigrants in Sabah and their strange success in obtaining citizenship. There are concerns, too, about the importation of Islam and race-based politics when Sabah and Sarawak are guaranteed cultural, religious and language diversity autonomy under the Sabah 20-Point Agreement and the Sarawak 18-Point Agreement. Both are international treaties signed when Malaysia was established.

Political changes
Last year, 2008, saw Malaysia Day being given prominence, but perhaps for the wrong reasons. It took the Barisan Nasional (BN)’s dismal performance in the peninsula at the March general election for the political spotlight to be turned onto Sabah and Sarawak. Combined, these two states kept the BN in federal power with the 54 out of the 140 seats it had contested. East Malaysian BN politicians felt empowered to demand due reward, such as more cabinet posts and higher oil royalties.

Coinciding with calls for more political recognition and greater economic opportunities was the Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP)’s no-confidence vote against then prime minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. SAPP president Datuk Yong Teck Lee then said there was no more BN “spirit” in Sabah, and that the BN had not given “due recognition” to the state. On 17 Sept 2008, a day after Malaysia Day, Yong withdrew his party from the BN coalition. Its two Members of Parliament (MPs) are now independents.

At the same time, there was much hype over the Pakatan Rakyat (PR)’s plan to take over federal government. 16 Sept was the deadline and speculation abounded on the number of BN MPs said to be willing and ready to cross over. Coy about the numbers and hopelessly confident that it would happen, PR leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim disappointed many when the takeover did not materialise, and provided fodder for the BN to criticise the opposition.

With the PR’s takeover plan a failure, the date became symbolic of aspirations of what a united Malaysia, free from racial and religious bias and free from repressive laws, could be.

Parti Keadilan Rakyat on 15 Sept 2008 convened a mammoth rally at the Kelana Jaya stadium in Petaling Jaya to commemorate Malaysia’s formation and to press for the release of blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin and Seputeh MP Teresa Kok, then Internal Security Act detainees. Journalist Tan Hoon Cheng had also been arrested but was released a day later on 14 Sept.

Meanwhile, Anwar had proposed that 16 Sept be made a public holiday in all PR-led states, and Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng promised to do so starting in 2009.

Popular posts from this blog

Kardashian LaChapelle Christmas card 2013

Kardashian LaChapelle Christmas card 2013, Kardashians leave no stones unturned in making their annual Christmas card as larger than life as possible, but for this Christmas, they might have gone a tad overboard as it cost $250,000 for their latest move of self-glorification; obviously the Kardashian Klan didn’t shell out a penny for it. You can see big hair and high fashion but the card shows no Lamar, Scott, Kanye or Rob. Kim Kardashian was more than excited to see the concept of the new card, as she mentioned trying new things was something that excited her the most. Before the shoot, the entire family was seen sitting around in their robes and jammies, discussing the previous Christmas holidays, presents and much, sipping their favorite champagne throughout the time. The Drama The off-beat or rather intricate Christmas card shows us the five sisters Kim, Khloe, Kourtney, Kylie Jenner and Kendall Jenner along with their parents Kris Jenner and Bruce Jenner. They are seen in...

Ugly bridesmaid dresses

Ugly Bridesmaid Dresses Ugly bridesmaid dresses - All brides are beautiful, and all bridesmaid dresses are ugly, unless it’s Pippa’s. But some bridesmaid dresses go beyond ugly to truly hideous. Those Ugly bridesmaid dresses look like they came from the closet of my high school’s drama department. You know, the crappy, shapeless costumes that have seemingly been there since 1972? That’s what these dresses remind me of. Like a one-size-fits-all kind of thing. I’m glad they’re wearing such big smiles on their faces, because it shows that they don’t care about stupid, shallow things like that. They’re just happy for their newly wedded friend. Impressive.

'Star Trek' Actress Grace Lee Whitney Dies at 85

'Star Trek' Actress Grace Lee Whitney Dies at 85, Grace Lee Whitney, the on-screen character who played Yeoman Janice Rand on the first Star Trek, passed away Friday. She was 85. Every USA Today, child Jonathan Dweck said the star passed on of common reasons at her home in Central California. Whitney depicted Captain Kirk's collaborator for eight scenes of the first 1966 TV arrangement before she was composed out of the script. At the point when Star Trek was renewed as a motion picture establishment in 1979, the performing artist returned as a boss frivolous officer in Star Trek: The Motion Picture. Her last appearance as Rand was in 1991's Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. William Shatner, who played Whitney's onscreen manager, tweeted Monday: "Sympathies to the group of Grace. She was a consistent sparkling grin throughout the years each time our ways crossed." Every NBC News, Whitney was a customary at Star Trek traditions around the glob...