Sabah leaders welcome state government’s recognition of Sabah Day

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah political leaders have welcomed the state government’s decision to officially celebrate Sabah Day this Aug 31.

Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) deputy president Japiril Suhaimin said this would be the inaugural celebration to commemorate Sabah’s independence from British rule 60 years ago.

The announcement by Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor, he said, showed that the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) government cares about the desires of Sabahans in accordance with the slogan “Sabah First”.

“After several years of struggle, this news certainly gives joy and relief to SAPP, Sabah STAR and all Sabah Day fighters,” he said, in a statement here on Thursday (Aug 24). This announcement opens a new page of history for Sabahans,” he added.

According to Japiril, many Sabahans and Malaysians do not know the historical difference between Malaya’s independence on Aug 31, 1957 and Sabah Day on the same date in 1963.

Sabahans should celebrate Sabah Day on Aug 31 because previously it was always intended to commemorate Malaya’s independence in 1957.

“SAPP sincerely hopes that the celebration of the festival will continue every year.

“It needs to be properly and officially recognised so that the people of Sabah will have more awareness about our important history,” he said, adding he was confident that Sabah Day will one day be gazetted.

Local parties like Sabah STAR and SAPP have been campaigning to mark Sabah Day over the years.

On Monday (Aug 21), Hajiji said Sabah will celebrate Sabah Day this Aug 31 to commemorate the day it became an independent nation 60 years ago.

He said the state Cabinet made the decision during its meeting last week and chose Tambunan as the venue for the inaugural celebration, with the programme to start at 3pm.

“Let us honour and commemorate the day which marked the end of British colonial rule in Sabah (on Aug 31, 1963) and signifies our journey of coming together as a people to establish self-rule,” he added.

Parti Warisan’s Tungku assemblyman Assaffal Alian said while the state’s decision to recognise Aug 31 as Sabah Day should be welcomed by all, he said the celebration should be held to commemorate the day the British empire released North Borneo to be under self-rule instead of attaining independence status.

He said Hajiji made an oversight when the latter noted that Sabah Day was to remember the state becoming an independent nation.

“The British never accorded independent status to anyone including Singapore. Sabah and Sarawak only had its own governments in 1963 to start the process of decolonisation.

“If it was true Sabah really attained independence, then where is the document of recognition similar to that obtained by the Malaya states in 1957?” asked the Warisan supreme council member.

Assafal said the last British governor Sir William Goode had also announced Sabah was under de-facto self-government on Aug 31, 1963.

“I urge Hajiji to correct the oversight because people in Sabah have been confused through what is taught in the history books in school for the last 60 years,” he said.

He also urged Hajiji to table a motion on Sabah’s independence in the next state assembly sitting to allow the matter to be debated.