For many Sabahans and Sarawakians, Independence Day should be Sept 16, 1963.

That this historical fact has been almost obliterated from the collective memory of the nation is evident. During the recent deluge of commentaries on the current Merdeka celebration, almost all writers referred to our "46th Merdeka celebration".

Although this is the official nomenclature for the event according to our national narrative, the description hardly fits the lived experience of over four million Malaysians an ocean away from Kuala Lumpur.

Usually, when a description does not fit a fact that it tries to describe, you call it a lie.