Only One Independence Day

I'm sure most East Malaysians will not feel very happy with this statement.

Our country is only together as one on 16 September, not 31 August as 31 August 1957 is the independence of Malaya, which excludes Sabah and Sarawak, while 16 September 1963 is the formation of MALAYSIA as a nation.

As for the celebration - the RM100 million spent this year is too much in my opinion. There are better ways to spend this large amount of money. Furthermore, many of us felt less like a nation lately. The worst part is the celebration was more like a Barisan Nasional celebration than a Malaysian celebration, based on numerous reports and opinion of friends and family back home.

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 17 (Bernama) — The government has decided that the celebration of nationhood is only on Aug 31 to show that the country is together as a nation, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said today.

However, this does not mean that Malaysia Day, which falls on Sept 16, is not important, the deputy prime minister said.

“Malaysia Day is an important day but we have decided that there should be only one day of independence because that is to show that we are together as a nation,” he said when asked to comment on Penang Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon’s statement yesterday regarding Malaysia Day.

The Gerakan acting president had called for more recognition to be given to Malaysia Day to celebrate the founding of the federation of Malaysia.

Dr Koh had said that while there had always been emphasis on celebrating Merdeka Day on Aug 31, the celebration of nationhood should also cover Malaysia Day.

“There is no harm in remembering Malaysia Day but the apex of our celebration will still be 31 August,” said Najib.

Najib told reporters this after launching the environment-friendly rehabilitation of the Taman Beringin landfill and its leachate treatment plant in Jinjang.