The three dates and their historical significance to Sarawak and Malaysia

Over  10 years ago, a group of civil society movements led by Dominique Ng Kim Ho, See Chee How, Nicholas Mujah, Yong Sen Chan, Midi Johnek and  few others had been calling on the Sarawak and Malaysian government to recognise Sept 16 as a day to recognise the formation of Malaysia in 1963.

Without failed, they would “celebrate” the day at the Central Padang by singing the national anthem as they raised the national flag.

Initially, the police would chase them away from the padang. But after a few years of celebrations, they police allowed them, not after imposing strict rules and regulations.

The number of civil societies joining them expanded and grew over the years, with the participation of Lina Soo, Peter John Jaban, Alim Mideh and a few others.

The demand was for the Malaysian and Sarawak governments to declare Sept 16 as Malaysia Day and a public holiday.

It was on Sept 16, 1963 that the Federation of Malaysia was formally formed  by Sarawak, Sabah, Malaya and Singapore.

However, Singapore left the federation in 1965.

In 2010, Prime Minister Najib Razak announced in Kuching that the Malaysian government would declare Sept 16 as Malaysia Day and a public holiday, the following year.

Fresh from their success, the civil societies pushed for the recognition of July 22 as Sarawak’s Self-rule Day.

They were joined by politicians from both sides of the political divide. For whatever reasons, the politicians find the topic of Sarawak’s Self-government Day popular and as a useful tool to secure the support of the ordinary rakyat.

On July 22, 1963, the British government relinquished its reign over Sarawak in favour of the people of Sarawak. Some historians have claimed that Sarawak was never an Independence state from this date because of the presence of the British-appointed Colonial Governor and the British Colonial officers still running the country. This was despite the fact that Stephen Kalong Ningkan was the chief minister.

Moreover, the British legislation on Sarawak’s self-government did not provide for its independence prior to it joining the federation of Malaysia.

From July 22, 1963 to Sept 16, 1963, it was a self-government for Sarawak.

Abang Openg Abang Sapiee only assumed office of Governor on Sept 16,1963 until his death on March 28, 1969.

Nevertheless, the civil societies insisted that Sarawak was an Independence and sovereign country on July 22, 1963 and, therefore, wanted the date to be recognised as Sarawak’s Independence Day and a public holiday.

Since 2012, Sarawak was celebrating Self-government Day. Starting this year, Chief Minister Adenan Satem officially declared July 22 as  Sarawak Day and a public holiday.

The holiday has been received widely by the Sarawak  government and citizens since 2012 after public discontent about Merdeka Day being too Malaya-centric.

Last year, Merdeka Day or Independence Day was renamed National Day to accede to the demands of Sarawak and Sabah.

Two states argued that Malaysia was not formed on Aug 31,but on Sept 16, 1963.

They argued that Aug 31 was a day Malaya gained its Independence from the British in 1957, and therefore, has no historical value for Sarawak and Sabah.

Rightly or wrongly, Sarawak’s forefathers supported Aug 31 as Merdeka Day for the whole country, a decision which is now being hotly debated by civil societies, political parties and politicians. We did not have any historical record of the forefathers objecting.

Perhaps, they could not understand the implication of Aug 31 to Sarawak.

Sarawak Minister Fatimah Abdullah, a former education officer,  stressed the historical importance of the three dates – July 22, Aug 31 and Sept 16 – to Sarawak and Malaysia and she wanted students and teachers to know these dates.

She said teachers need to educate the generations born after 1963 about the country and State’s history so that they could understand and appreciate why July 22, Aug 31 and Sept 16 are important dates for Sarawak and Malaysia.

 

Fatimah said the present generation only recognised Aug 31 as the date to celebrate because they were taught by their teachers, parents and mass media.

Sarawak for  Sarawak (S4S) movement leader Peter John Jaban called for an end to the misinformation about  Aug 31 and its significance in history, especially among school children.

The movement was asking why Malaya’s Merdeka continues to be portrayed as the primary celebration of the nation, even here at State level.

Therefore, it wanted greater prominence for Sept 16  nationwide and greater insistence in schools on an accurate portrayal of the history of the nation.

As far as Peter was  concerned,  Sept 16 was the only day that could possibly qualify as National Day as on Aug 31, 1957, Malaysia as a nation did not exist and was not even conceived.

This insistence on a version of history which totally ignored the contribution of Sarawak could continue, especially in Sarawak schools, where the children were being indoctrinated with a version of history that wiped out the contributions of their own forefathers.

History must be taught accurately, including an in-depth study of the way in which the Nation was formed, as a partnership of four nations at that time.

Editor’s note: The writer is a retired senior government officer, but is now a full-time social activist. He writes in his spare time.

Kredit : SarawakVoice.com