Messing up with Merdeka date
By Jeswant Kaur, FMT
Is Aug 31 the independence day of Malaysia or Malaya? Referring to the former, which is what we have for so long been doing, has caused a lot of unhappiness among the people of East Malaysia, that is, Sabah and Sarawak.
As of 2010, the population of the two states stood at six million (3.5 million in Sabah and 2.5 million in Sarawak), representing roughly 20% of the population of Malaysia.
Historically, the term “Malaysia” came into being on Sept 16, 1963. Prior to that, this country was called “Malaya” which in the Philippine national language of Tagalog also means “free” or “freedom”.
This being so, the people of Sabah and Sarawak want Aug 31 to be addressed as the independence day of Malaya, not Malaysia.
The first prime minister of independent Malaya, Tunku Abdul Rahman, in 1961 mooted the idea of forming “Malaysia” which would comprise Brunei, Malaya, Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore, all of which had been British colonies.
Tunku’s reasoning was that this would allow the central government to combat and control communist activities, especially in Singapore.
Then there was also the fear that if Singapore achieved independence, it would become a base for Chinese chauvinists to threaten Malayan sovereignty. It was decided that to balance out the ethnic composition of the new nation, the other states, with their Malay and indigenous populations, would be included.
The objections raised by the people of Sabah and Sarawak in being included in the Aug 31 independence brings to mind the rejections then made by the political parties in Sarawak in merging with “Malaysia”.
Sabah’s community representatives also opposed the merger and so did the Parti Rakyat Brunei (PRB), albeit the Sultan of Brunei supporting the “marriage”. A revolt staged by PRB was seen as a threat to destabilise the new nation, hence the decision to leave Brunei out of Malaysia.
After a review of the Cobbold Commission’s findings, the British government appointed the Landsdowne Commission to draft a constitution for Malaysia. The constitution would essentially be the same as the 1957 constitution, the only difference being in the rewording. For instance, recognising the special position of the natives of the Borneo states plus granting Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore autonomy which was unavailable to other states of Malaya.
Post-negotiations in July 1963, it was agreed that Malaysia would come into being on Aug 31, 1963 consisting of Malaya, Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore. The date was to coincide with the independence day of Malaya.
However, the Philippines and Indonesia fought against this development, with the latter claiming Malaysia represented a form of “neocolonialism” and the Philippines claiming Sabah as its territory, causing the formation of Malaysia to be delayed.
This situation led to an eight-member United Nations team being formed to re-ascertain whether Sabah and Sarawak truly wanted to be a part of Malaysia. Malaysia was formally established on Sept 16, 1963 comprising Malaya, Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore.
The above quick-take on how Malaya and Malaysia came to be forces the question of why then is Aug 31 referred to as the independence day of Malaysia, instead of Malaya?
Natives of Sabah and Sarawak upset
Repeatedly addressing Aug 31 as Malaysia’s Merdeka day has been rankling the natives of Sabah and Sarawak for sometime now. Their argument is that the Malaysian government has got its facts wrong by referring to Aug 31 as the independence day for Malaysia. Aug 31, they point out, should be addressed as the independence day of Malaya.
How should this issue be dealt with? Should the term “Malaya” henceforth be used to address the country’s Merdeka come Aug 31? The irony, however, is that for so long a time now, Aug 31 has been synonymous with the birth date of “Malaysia”. How did this anomaly happen?
