Decision to observe Sabah Day a reflection of autonomy, says historical facts

KOTA KINABALU: The end of Britain’s colonial rule in Sabah on Aug 31, 1963, has never been celebrated by the state over the last 60 years.

The historic day for Sabahans was always overshadowed by the National Day celebrations with little or no memory that Aug 31 was a significant date where Sabah – then known as North Borneo – was given self rule ahead of the formation of Malaysia.

This year for the first time in 60 years, the state government had decided to mark and celebrate “Sabah Day”.

According to political analyst Tony Paridi Bagang, the state decision to mark Sabah Day was a reflection of the state’s autonomy in the Federation.

He said that recognition of Sabah Day would possibly give a fresh look at the historical facts on the formation of the Federation of Malaysia on Sept 16, 1963.

“The recognition of Sabah Day could be viewed as the manifestation of state autonomy.

“With the marking of Sabah Day, it may see a revisit into the facts in historical books (school historical syllabus),” said Bagang, a senior lecturer with the Sabah UiTM campus.

He said the marking of Sabah Day was long overdue as many leaders had been pushing for the state to mark the day Sabah was given self governance.

“Surely, it captures the hearts and minds of Sabahans and changes their narrative on Sabah Day, which is similar to Sarawak Day (July 22),” he said.

This year, Sabah will hold the annual state-level National Day celebration on Aug 31 morning in the state capital before state leaders head to the interior Tambunan to mark Sabah Day celebrations for the first time.

On Aug 21, Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor said the state would celebrate Sabah Day to mark the state’s important historical milestone that saw the end of British colonial rule on Aug 31, 1963 and the establishment of self-rule.

On whether the narrative on the formation of Malaysia would change, Bagang said that they had to see if the current Federal Government would honour Sabah’s position in Malaysia and Malaysia Agreement 1963.

“This will be a litmus test for the current Prime Minister to fulfil and honour Sabah Day,” he said.

For some historians, the formation of the Federation of Malaysia comprising Malaya, Singapore, Sarawak and Sabah was scheduled to happen on Aug 31, 1963.

The date was to coincide with Malaya’s independence on Aug 31, 1957.

However, the formation of the new federation was delayed due to objections from the Philippines and Indonesia.

Malaysia was only formed on Sept 16, 1963, with the British going ahead to grant self rule to Sabah and Sarawak ahead of the formation of the Malaysian Federation. Singapore left the Federation in 1965.

Sabah Day was not celebrated in the first three decades of Malaysia, but during the rule of Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS), they pushed for marking Malaysia Day on Sept 16 by declaring a holiday together with the Governor’s birthday.

In 2014, the Federal government decided to make Sept 16 a public holiday.

Then prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said that the country would celebrate two national days when he announced Malaysia Day as a holiday.

Najib said that Merdeka day would be celebrated on Aug 31 to remind us of our struggle for independence from the colonialists while Malaysia Day would be celebrated to strengthen unity, understanding among races, achievements and other aspects of our socio-cultural fabric.