M'sia Day nod opens Pandora's Box

The long-awaited federal government recognition of Malaysia Day has opened up Pandora's Box, going by reaction to the declaration that Sept 16 will be a national holiday from next year.

In particular, the emphasis is on the autonomy promised to Sabah and Sarawak under the 1963 Malaysia Agreement.

Sabah PKR deputy chief Kong Hong Ming ( right ) said there can be no compromise on what was promised to the people of the two states by the very concept of a federation called Malaysia.

"We need to study the true meaning and intent of Malaysia and spring into action. There must be no more lip service," said Kong.

"If the federal government under Najib is truly serious about Malaysia Day, it should deliver what was promised to the people of Sabah and Sarawak by the 1963 Agreement."

For starters, Kong said the federal government should start addressing the imbalances between both halves of Malaysia.

PKR vice-president Jeffrey Gapari Kitingan said he wants the federal government to acknowledge that it has been due to Pakatan's efforts that the national holiday has been declared.

Jeffrey ( below ), long-known for his emphasis on Sabah rights, the 20 Points and the Malaysia Agreement, welcomed the idea that the date will no longer be marked by arbitrary arrests by the police for gatherings held and speeches to mark the occasion.

"The recognition means that the federal government should remove the confusion created by the Aug 31 date - this should henceforth be known as Independence Day, and not National Day, since Sept 16 is also an important day and is also a National Day," he said.

At the same time, he said, the federal government should no longer claim that Sabah and Sarawak have been independent for the same number of years as Peninsular Malaysia.

"Students in schools and universities should be taught these facts (which) should no longer be glossed over in history textbooks. Students are now punished by their teachers when they question the official interpretation of history," Jeffrey claimed.

He demanded the recall of history and Malaysian Studies textbooks and modules used in schools and universities, saying that the people of Sabah and Sarawak - and others who have been left out - should be accorded their proper place in replacement texts.

At the same time, he said, the Inter-Governmental Committee should be revived to monitor the implementation of the 1963 Agreement, correct deviations and distortions, make good all promises and rectify imbalances.

"The interpretation of ‘federation' should be that under the 1963 Agreement and not under the 1957 constitution of the federation of Malaya," he stressed, echoing a point repeatedly raised by anti-illegal immigration activist Dr Chong Eng Leong.

Parti Rakyat Sarawak secretary-general Wilfred Rata anak Nissom and Suhakam vice-chairperson Simon Sipaun both complained that Sept 16 should have been recognised from the very beginning.

Hindu Rights Action Front chairperson P Waythamoorthy ( right ) said the federal government is "trying to placate the people of Sabah and Sarawak after having marginalised them and discriminated against them for so long.

"Malaysians are more mature now and will not be pacified by mere ploys," he said in an e-mail from London where he has obtained political asylum.

Sabah Peoples Progressive Party Yong Teck Lee sees the recognition of Malaysia Day as coming “46 years too late” and wants this fact to be recorded in the history books.

Tawau MP Dr Chua Soon Bui hopes that Malaysia Day will not degenerate into another slogan like '1Malaysia' and will mean equal treatment in both halves of Malaysia.

As a case in point, she cites the fact that civil servants from Peninsular Malaysia get all sorts of allowances and perks when they are posted to Sabah and Sarawak.

“When civil servants from Sabah and Sarawak are posted to Peninsular Malaysia, they get nothing,” she charged.

Similarly, 568 graduates of the education faculty of Universiti Malaysia Sabah are still unemployed after many months of waiting, when their counterparts at public universities in the peninsula have long been posted to schools.

Chua called this a clear-cut case of discrimination that is not in keeping with the 1Malaysia concept.

Euphoria in other quarters

The euphoria over the announcement was supplied by Kadazan Society Sabah deputy president Sylvester J Disimon, who noted that "history has been corrected".

Sandakan PKR division head Ahmad Thamrin said he was glad the federal government "had come to its senses", a comment echoed by Kota Kinabalu lawyer Ram Singh.

Senior consumer activist Hashima Hasbullah pointed out that "it's something that Sabahans have cried out for, for so long", while Dusun Adat and culture expert Raymond Tombung quipped that Pakatan "will now have one issue less to hammer the BN government".

Sarawak Land Minister James Masing ( right) said the federal government has finally recognised the birth of Malaysia, and Kota Kinabalu Mayor Iliyas Ibrahim said respect is being shown for Sabah and Sarawak.

Bernama editorial adviser Azman Ujang, who hails from Kuching, said Malaysia has too many public holidays, "but this is one that I support...Sept 16 is too historical a date to be ignored".

Sabah minister for tourism, culture and environment Masidi Manjun shared a personal moment.

"I was one of those who patiently stood in the sun at Padang Merdeka in KK on Sept 16, 1963 when the Federation of Malaysia was proclaimed in the presence of then Deputy Prime Minister Abdul Razak (Hussein)," he recalled with tears welling up in his eyes.

"I thank Allah for giving me good health to be able to live to hear the announcement by Najib, his son, that Sept 16 will be a national holiday. It will re-ignite the true spirit of Malaysia."

Masidi, who is tipped to be the next chief minister of Sabah under a BN administration, said "Najib has helped Malaysia regain her soul".