SEPTEMBER 21 — There are some people who continue to insist Sabah and Sarawak should stop groaning about Sept 16 and accept Aug 31 as the only date for the Merdeka/Malaysia Day celebration.
A major thrust of this argument is that even though Alaska and Hawaii were admitted into the union of the United States of America in 1959, they also observe their Independence Day as July 4, 1776. It is also a fact the 35 other states that joined decades after the original 13, conceiving the union, also accepted this same date.
There was justice finally in 2010, when Malaysia Day was formally recognised and gazetted as a national holiday.
‘Malaysia Berjaya’ was like a pop song
Malaysia kita sudah berjaya Aman makmur bahagia .................................... …................................. Satu bangsa satu negara Malaysia berjaya!
I remember singing this like a pop song almost everyday when I was in my lower forms. It was entirely about one-ness, about one country and one people. How did a patriotic song with a military-like marching beat become so infectious?
Well, Malaysia belonged to all of us, and we all belonged to Malaysia (didn’t the success during the Rio Olympics do this to us?). I don’t know about elsewhere, but in Penang, the only distinctions are that Malays have Malay names, and Indians, Seranis (Eurasians), Christian Indians, Thais and Burmese have their separate names, too. The diversity in language, cultural and religious practises were the unique proposition on which we built our foundation. To move forward, we had to tackle the inherited economic imbalances staring at us through a bold but necessary social re-engineering programme.
Tunku Abdul Rahman was the right man at the right time. He stepped aside when he realised his time was up. Tun Abdul Razak was the right man for the next stage and he was fortunate to have Tun Dr Ismail by his side, like Tunku who had him earlier. However, it was not only to their families’ great misfortune that both passed on — Dr Ismail at 58 in 1973 and Razak at 54 in 1976 — but to me, it caused the entire landscape of Malaysia to be reversed. Their nation-building programmes evolved into political tools. If only both could have been around for just 10 more years.
Our foundations are still sturdy
During the rapid economic growth years of the 1980s and early 1990s, propped by electoral successes, we, wittingly or otherwise, allowed the very foundation which helped win independence for Malaya and establish Malaysia, to be mauled.
Secularism was questioned habitually. Calls of "ketuanan Melayu” were left unchecked. This serious pandering by the administration was read as a sign of encouragement. Race and religion became political capital.
When Tun Abdullah Badawi took over the reins, the electorate voted like Happy days are here again. However, Pak Lah let slip the cudgels — he didn’t carry through the reforms he had clearly identified, and the political tsunami came knocking. The consummate political leader Datuk Seri Najib Razak was spot-on when he launched 1Malaysia. Do visit its website to appreciate his political acumen. Many cannot fathom why he didn’t see through this powerful initiative. He would have brought the fight to his political opponents.
If it was the far right in his party who had objected strenuously, what could they have done in 2010, if he had been insistent? Where could Perkasa and the like-minded have gone? Then he engaged Dong Zong (during its contentious leadership) with the Chinese New Year open house visit, raising expectations but didn’t provide goodies. He humoured the two groupings whose votes were virtually declared, but let down the rest of the electorate by not seeing through 1Malaysia. I thought Najib had seriously miscalculated.
Sarawak governor Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud holds up a digital drum stick to officiate the Malaysia Day national-level celebrations in Bintulu last Friday. Also present are (from left) Sarawak Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri James Masing, Communications and Multimedia Minister Datuk Seri Salleh Said Keruak, Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Adenan Satem, Najib and Sabah Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan. — Picture by Zuraneeza Zulkifli
It is perfectly understandable how and why Kuala Lumpur/Putrajaya assumed the dominant role in the administration of Malaysia from day one. The state of readiness for Sabah and Sarawak were known to be quite far behind that of Singapore and Malaya, hence the necessary 20-point and 18-point Agreements. In fact, the Cobbold Commission formed to determine whether the peoples of these two territories supported the establishment of Malaysia comprised three colonial officers and two Malayans, but none from Sabah and Sarawak.
Putrajaya would find it terribly hard to offer any reasonable arguments to delay the devolution of power to the two territories using the Agreements as the term of reference. It is time to do things right anyway.
Tan Sri Tan Koon Swan, 76, ex-MCA president of another circumstance, was a 2nd-term MP during the Ola Bola days and witnessed first-hand the unity and harmony among all races then. He feels strongly no matter how one can disagree with the government of the day, one must be careful the country is not the one that is bashed.
He reminds societies that stay strong and last are not those built by the rich and powerful, but by those with love, compassion and gratitude. Tan is certain Malaysia will continue to be among the handful of high-growth nations.
I wish the administration would stay on course with the tenets of our foundation based on the secular model and that every Malaysian feels they have a fair stake under the Malaysian skies, notwithstanding our affirmative action programme.
Postscript
The administration must cease their funding of NGOs that dwell on the supremacy of race and religion immediately.
A government based on the universal good values of Islam would always be well supported and so will one that emphasises one nation, one people.
* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail Online.
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