SDGA: Malaysia Day should be the premier non-religious celebration in the country

KUCHING, Sept 12, 2014: The Sarawak Dayak Graduates Association (SDGA) concurs with  Minister of Land Development James Jemut Masing that Sept 16 should be the premier non-religious celebration in this country.

Dusit: "Not appropriate to say Malaysia its Independence, but rather it was formed by four willing partners"

"Historical fact which we simply cannot ignore  is that Malaya gained independence from Britain on Aug 31, 1957, the then North Borneo (Sabah), gained its independence from the British on Aug 31, 1963 and Sarawak on July 22, 1963," its president Dusit Jaul said in a statement today.

He added:"We need no reminder of the fact that Sept 16, 1963 marks the day a new nation, Malaysia  was born, out of willing partnership on equal footing of the four regions, Malaya, North Borneo, Sarawak and Singapore.

"From the British point of view, the formation of Malaysia was also a political necessity as the British was keen to withdraw from this part of the region.

"In as far as Malaysia is concern, from historical perspective, the use of the word “independent” is not appropriate," he said, adding that Malaysia never gained its independence, unlike Malaya. 

He pointed out that  the federation of Malaysia was formed by four willing, equal partner though Singapore left in August 1965.

"As far as Malaysia is concern, it is worthy to mention here that it was only a few years back that the government, under the current Prime Minister Najib Razak officially acknowledged this crucial date in the nation’s history, subsequently declaring Sept 16 as a national public holiday.

"Rightly so, though the move was long overdue. As the proverb rightly says, “better late than never”," Dusit said.

He said that declaring  Sept 16 as a national holiday in a way help to placate certain quarters in Sabah and Sarawak who more and more are voicing their frustration at being excluded from the centre and with that, growing regional sentiment.

He noted that more and more Sabahans and Sarawakians are agitating for a review of the 20 Points and 18 Points, the very basis upon which Sabah and Sarawak were willing to be equal partners in the Federation of Malaysia.

He said that the central idea is to put in place a certain form of compliance mechanism.

"We in SDGA believe that Sabahans and Sarawakians have a genuine concern to see that the three regions of Sabah, Sarawak and Malaya move along the path of progress in tandem.

"There is no point denying that we have a problem. The way forward is for our political leadership to strengthen the pillars of unity, and progressive Malaysia where all citizen, none the least, Sabahans and Sarawakians feel they have a rightful place in the Malaysian sun.

"A good point to ponder might be that future Malaysia Day celebrations need not be centred in Sabah and Sarawak alone, but bring it back to Putra Jaya, befitting Sept 16 as the most auspicious date in our nation’s history.

"In this way, the government is conveying the right message that Sept 16 is not just a Sabah and Sarawak affair, but a premier date for all 30 million Malaysians," Dusit stressed.