Thursday October 22, 2009

A great gift of a day

ALONG THE WATCHTOWER By M.VEERA PANDIYAN

The declaration of Sept 16 as Malaysia Day signifies the belated recognition of Sabah and Sarawak’s equal partnership status in the birth of the nation.

The recognition has come 46 years late but as the saying goes, it’s better late than never.

A serious deviation from the unique concept of nationhood as envisaged by the country’s founding fathers has finally been made right with the declaration of Sept 16 as Malaysia Day.

There is no doubt that the declaration has kindled much national pride among fellow Malaysians in Sabah and Sarawak.

It would go a long way in empowering the message behind Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s uniting slogan of 1Malaysia in the two states on the island of Borneo.

Like many other countries, Malaysia will now celebrate two “national days” - Merdeka Day on Aug 31 to mark the lifting of the colonial yoke and Malaysia Day on Sept 16 to recognise the formation of the nation as it is today.

It’s great to have two meaningful days.

The first is vital to reflect on our struggle for independence, the sacrifices and compromises made by the Malay nationalists in the peninsula as well as the leaders of the Chinese, Indian and other minority communities of the era.

For our future, however, the equally important date should be Sept 16 because it is the congruent and inclusive foundation upon which we can go forward as a progressive nation.

It appropriately connotes a broader sense of unity and purpose, unrestrained by geographical, ethnic or religious separation.

While much coverage was given to the Prime Minister and Umno president’s rousing speech at the recently concluded Umno general assembly, what he told the Dewan Rakyat on Monday held more significance for most Malaysians.

He said Malaysia Day must be celebrated with activities to strengthen unity, racial understanding and recognition of people’s achievements, irrespective of sectors and socio-cultures in the spirit of true nationhood.

Stressing that the formation of Malaysia as an independent and sovereign country was a key chapter in the nation’s history, he said it was only right that all citizens, including the people of Sabah and Sarawak, should benefit from education, economic and social development.

Sure, there were similar rhetoric from past leaders about the two states, but it does not take a genius to realise that the past focus has only been in cultivating pliant politicians who could ensure votes while enriching themselves.

Pakatan Rakyat leaders have claimed credit for suggesting that Malaysia Day be recognised but the truth is such calls have come from veritable patriots from Sabah and Sarawak for a long time.

The late Sabah chief minister Tun Fuad Stephens and Datuk Peter Mojuntin, the “Golden Son of the Kadazan”, who were among those killed in a plane crash in 1976, deserve mention.

It is obvious that we also need to do more to strengthen our ties, including increased regular flights, higher allocations for basic infrastructure projects like roads, water, electricity, schools, hospitals and clinics in the two states.

We cannot deny that those in the peninsula have benefited so much from revenues derived from natural resources of the two Borneo states.

Honestly, what our leaders have given back has been so little.

It is a crying shame that poverty levels in the two states are still among the lowest in the country.

The Prime Minister could perhaps take another big step towards healing their hurt by also recognising that Sabah and Sarawak are special regions whose people chose to be part of Malaysia, instead of continuing to merely regard them as two other states in the federation.

This would go a long way towards restoring the pride and dignity of the people there and earn more respect from politicians over here who think that the world revolves solely around them.

Let’s also admit that we also have much to learn from our brothers and sisters in Sabah and Sarawak, especially when it comes to unity and acceptance.

As Najib said in Parliament, history of the formation of Malaysia shows that our leaders were wise to have chosen integration rather than assimilation like in the cases of Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand.

He said it reflects the original leadership’s open attitude in wanting to be strong and united through diversity, adding that this was why there is no other country like Malaysia. It is a message that needs be understood by all political leaders in the country.

● Associate Editor M. Veera Pandiyan likes this quote by Ambrose Pierce, the author of the Devil’s Dictionary: In each human heart are a tiger, a pig, an ass and a nightingale. Diversity of character is due to their unequal activity.

News Poll

Latest Jobs from Star-Jobs

Latest from StarProperty