I refer to the letter Why Malaysia is 50 years old and not 44 . Uncle Yap pointedly refers to the USA as justification for our own Merdeka date.

However, his example is flawed as he considered the date of statehood as analogous to the date of independence. The mistake in this case is that most of the US states admitted post -independence were not in need of declaring independence from any foreign power in the first place.

Hawaii did not gain independence when it entered the US on Aug 21, 1959. On the contrary, she lost her independence when her monarchy was overthrown in 1896 and Hawaii declared a US territory in 1898.

The mainland US states on the other hand, were for the most part already under US control or under the Spanish (subsequently Mexican) and French control. The rest of the USA was formed by either former British colonies that gained independence on the same date as the original 13 but were not immediately recognised as states, or from the various purchases (eg, the Louisiana Purchase) and wars with Mexico.

But the main point is that what makes the USA was already there when she declared independence. Malaysia, on the other hand, was a concept that was only birthed on the Sept 16, 1963. East and West Malaysia were two highly disparate territories with very little connection to each another apart from sharing the same colonial master.

There was little or no agitation for an encompassing nation to unite the two until the 1950s. Thus the concept of 'Malaysia' itself, its soul so to speak, was never envisioned nor even conceptualised until very near the birth of Malaysia as a united nation.

Another point of note is that many people would object is the idea that the East Malaysian states 'joined' Malaysia, like the American states did with their federation. The United States of America experienced something far different. It was a nation that saw newly admitted states slowly assimilate and adapt to the wider American culture that had already developed in the federation.

But Malaysia is different. Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore didn't 'join' Malaysia. They formed it, alongside Malaya and influenced what would become the Malaysian culture instead of having a very one-sided influx of cultural thought.

Thus, while I believe Aug 31 is a vital date in our nation's history, I request that Sept 16 be given more attention as being the date of the formation of Malaysia itself, the Malaysia that grew into what it is today.

On a side note, Sabah's independence date is actually Aug 31, 1963. It stood on its own for 16 days before forming the Malaysian federation.