COMMENT | Many people in Malaysia, including Sabah, probably do not realise that today is both the 68th anniversary of Malaya’s independence and the 62nd anniversary of Sabah’s self-government (alongside Singapore’s de facto independence).

This is not surprising, not just because most Malaysians, including Sabahans, are not taught sufficiently about history beyond Malaya. It is also because there is a relatively recent tendency to downplay our commonalities and underline our differences.