September 16, the day Malaysia was formed, must be recognised as a historical fact and not be erased from the people's minds.

What happened on that day cannot be ignored, said renowned political scientist Prof P Ramasamy.

"They (the officials) should pay attention to what happened on Sept 16," he said, adding that "Aug 31 and Sept 16 are two different events and two different issues."

Aug 31 is when Malaysia celebrates its independence from British colonial rule, which certain quarters have claimed to be inaccurate.

There are also voices, especially from Sabah and Sarawak , calling for Sept 16 to be celebrated as on this date in 1963, the two states as well as Singapore became part of Malaysia. Singapore broke away two years later.

They also want the record to be set straight that the Federation of Malaysia is 42 years old and not 48 as officially claimed.

Two celebrations

Ramasamy suggested that two celebrations be held instead of the current one.

"We can have a Merdeka Day for Peninsular Malaysia on Aug 31 and Malaysia Day for the whole of Malaysia on Sept 16," he said.

The academic said the Sept 16 issue was important as it signified how Sabah and Sarawak 'came into Malaysia as equals'.

"I think the people in Sabah and Sarawak have not been respected by the rest of the Malaysian population. There is always regional sentiments.

"If we don't incorporate the views and sentiments of Sarawak and Sabah, then you are not going to have a political system that is sound," he added.

Public holiday

Meanwhile, Bandar Kuching parliamentarian Chong Chieng Jien said Sept 16 should be highlighted as the day Malaysia was born and be gazetted as a public holiday.

"This is for the government to educate the younger generation. Let them know about the formation of Malaysia.

"By highlighting this day (Sept 16) we will know how Malaysia is born. This day must be given a recognition to remind our younger generation. A lot of the younger generation do not know that Malaysia was born through an inter-governmental agreement between Sabah, Sarawak, Singapore and the Federation of Malay States," he added.

Malaysian Institute of Integrity president Sulaiman Mahbob described Sept 16 as "some historical incident."

"I personally feel that it should have be Aug 31 (to be celebrated). Sept 16 was due to some technical glitches that has not been met and it was delayed," he said.