COMMENT I flew into Kota Kinabalu to celebrate Aug 31 with my friends but not as a national day or Merdeka (independence), but for two other reasons.
 
The first is to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Trans-Borneo International 4x4 Off-Road Expedition held here, of which I took part in.

The other reason is that Aug 31 is the independence day of Sabah in 1963, fifty one years ago. I want to celebrate that with my friends in the ‘Land Below the Wind’.
 
For some suspicious reasons, Aug 31 is stuck in our psyche as our national independence day, when it is not.
 
As a nation state, there is no national independence day as the three component states were already independent nations when they came together to form Malaysia on Sept 16, 1963.
 
The Federation of Malaya (with its 11 component states) achieved independence on Aug 31, 1957 while Sarawak did so on July 22, 1963 and Sabah on Aug 31 that same year.
 
So our national day is Sept 16, now known as Malaysia Day and not Merdeka.
 
On the way to Likas from the airport, I asked my taxi driver what he would be celebrating, Merdeka or Sabah’s independence, he replied without hesitation,”Merdeka!”
 
When I told him Aug 31 is Sabah’s independence and not Malaysia’s, he disagreed and said Sabah’s independence was on Sept 16. I know history is not my strength but it looks like this guy has a problem with dates, too.
 
In the run-up to the Aug 31 celebrations, the state-owned Radio and Television Malaysia (Sabah) was incessantly coaxing locals to celebrate the ‘national day’ by flying the national flag.
 
Just two days ago, the Kuala Penyu state assemblyperson, Limus Jury, joined in by saying the Jalur Gemilang campaign in Sabah is one way to “effectively promote patriotism and loyalty to the country.”
 
Malaysia Day

But Simon Sipaun (right), 76, a retired career Sabah civil servant and now human rights advocate, told a public forum – Malaysia at Crossroads – in Kota Kinabalu two days ago, “I get the impression that the federal government was trying to make the people believe, especially Malaysians living in Sabah, that Malaysia was formed on Aug 31, 1957.

"This probably explains why it took the federal government 46 long years to accept and acknowledge Sept 16 as Malaysia Day. “
 
“I am not a politician. I have never been one (but) questioning historical facts which are allegedly distorted does not mean disloyalty to the nation,” added Sipaun, who was at one time Sabah’s state secretary among the numerous senior public offices he has held.
 
Sipaun pointed out that Article 160 of the federal constitution provides, amongst others, that ‘Merdeka Day’ means Aug 31, 1957 and the federation means the federation established under the federation of Malaya Agreement 1957.
 
“What then is the legal status and where is the place of the Malaysia Agreement signed in London on July 9, 1963? To the best of my knowledge there is no reference to the Malaysia Agreement 1963 in the federal constitution.

"How is it possible to relate the formation of Malaysia to the Malaya Agreement 1957 when Malaysia came into being only six years later?, “he asked.
 
He also said there was no racial, ethnic and religious problem in Sabah and no community claimed superiority over others then.

“There was no such thing as ‘ketuanan Melayu’ (Malays supremacy) which is akin to the Apartheid system of South Africa and Nazi Germany,“ he said.
 
He added, “‘Allah’ was never an issue. The non-Muslims used the word in their prayers and the Muslims never complained. The Muslims did not get confused. There were no forced conversions. There was true freedom of religion. Bibles were never confiscated by any government or religious authorities.”
 
“People were not labelled as Muslims simply by having a bin or binti in their names or by having Arab sounding names. No individual or community felt deprived or marginalised because of race or religion.”
 
'Overdose of politics'

Today Sabah has been reduced to one of the 13 states in Malaysia following an amendment to the federal constitution on Aug 27, 1976, Sipaun pointed out.
 
“It is time for this country to turn away from an overdose of politics based on race and religion. I find it rather amusing to hear leaders saying that the Malays and their religion are being threatened by the rest, “he said.
 
“Who in their right mind will dare to threaten them when they control everything associated with the government? They have the power.

"They have never experienced any other form of existence. They are fully protected by the constitution, the government, parliament, the police, the army, the air-force, navy and other government institutions all of which they control.  

They are the durians, the king of fruits. The rest, the minorities are cucumbers which are at the mercy of the durian. How can they ever be threatened?”
 
He also said the present government, dominated by  Umno, has not experienced any other form of existence other than ruling the country. It is not very tolerant of opinions, no matter how logical, which differ from its own. It will try to remain in power at any cost.
 
But he warned, “It is getting harder and harder for the government to hide the truth from the people. Sooner or later the government has to respond favourably to the legitimate demand of the majority otherwise an Arab Spring kind of situation may develop.”
 
We are after all a double-minded nation, celebrating August 31 for different reasons. Those insisting on Aug 31 as our national day also link this day to the independence of Tanah Melayu or Malaya, hence by a sleight of hand, the notion of ‘ketuanan Melayu’ has slipped in unnoticed for a very long while.
 
As Simon Sipaun has pointed out you can’t hide the truth from the people for long. So let’s celebrate Aug 31 as Merdeka in the peninsula and keep the ketuanan Melayu there and not export it across the South China Sea.
 
Sarawak can celebrate its independence day on July 22 and Sabah on Aug 31. And let’s keep Sept 16 as Malaysia Day for all. Let’s not forget our history lest we forfeit our destiny as a nation.


BOB TEOH retired recently as a newspaper editor. He was National Union of Journalists secretary-general from 1984 to 86.