Malaysia Day | |
---|---|
Official name | Hari Malaysia |
Observed by | Malaysians |
Type | National |
Significance | Marks the establishment of the Malaysian federation. |
Date | 16 September |
Next time | 16 September 2022 |
Frequency | Annual |
Malaysia Day (Malay : Hari Malaysia) is a public holiday held on 16 September every year to commemorate the establishment of the Malaysian federation on that date in 1963. This event saw Malaya, North Borneo (which was renamed Sabah), Sarawak, and Singapore unite into a single state. Singapore, however, was expelled from the federation less than two years later, on 9 August 1965.
The planned date for the formation of the new federation was 1 June 1963, but the event was postponed to 31 August 1963, to coincide with the sixth anniversary of Hari Merdeka. Several issues relating to the objections of neighbouring Indonesia and the Philippines to the formation of Malaysia delayed the declaration to 16 September of the same year. The postponement also allowed the United Nations team time to conduct a fact-finding mission in North Borneo and Sarawak regarding the two states participation in a new federation. [1] [2]
No referendum regarding federation was ever conducted in North Borneo or Sarawak. Singapore held a referendum on 1 September 1962, with all three options endorsing integration into Malaysia.[ citation needed ]
The formation of Malaysia was done under the basis of the Malaysia Agreement, signed in 1963 by the United Kingdom, the Federation of Malaya, Sarawak, North Borneo, and Singapore. This Agreement set out the terms and conditions for the component States to be federated under a new constitution. This Agreement included in its annexes the "Malaysia Bill" (Annex A), and the constitutions of Sabah (Annex B), Sarawak (Annex C), and Singapore (Annex D).[ citation needed ]
Prior to the formation of Malaysia, Sarawak gained self-governance on 22 July 1963. [3]
The "Malaysia Bill" was introduced in the Malayan Parliament on 9 July 1963, and received consent from Tuanku Syed Putra, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on 29 August 1963. [1]
North Borneo (now Sabah) only became self-governing from 31 August 1963, [4] which coincided with the sixth anniversary of Malayan independence from the British Empire and was also the original intended date of the Malaysia Agreement.[ citation needed ]
The first two commemoration anniversaries were celebrated unofficially both respectively in 1973, which marks a decade (10th anniversary) of the federation's existence and also 15 years later in 1988, which marks the silver jubilee (25th anniversary) of independence for Sabah and Sarawak states through their accession into the federation as member states.[ citation needed ]
Prior to 2010, Malaysia Day was observed as a state public holiday only in Sabah and Sarawak (with subsequent unofficial commemoration anniversaries in 1993 – pearl jubilee or 30th anniversary, 1998 – coral jubilee or 35th anniversary, 2003 – ruby jubilee or 40th anniversary and the last being in 2008 – sapphire jubilee or 45th anniversary), but an unofficial patriotic day of observance marked nationally (it marks the end of the annual month-long August–September Independence Month observance) and only the anniversary of the nation's formation. [ citation needed ]
Prime Minister Najib Razak made the decision after a question-and-answer session at Parliament on 19 October 2009, giving Malaysians two celebrations related to the country's independence and sovereignty. Beginning the year 2010, Malaysia Day became a nationwide public holiday. [5]
The inaugural celebrations only began in 2011, in which Hari Merdeka was celebrated albeit simultaneously for that year only (as since it was delayed by a time limit of 2 weeks' late), since that year's annually observed date of 31 August coincided or clashed with that year's Eid-ul-Fitr celebrations.[ citation needed ]
The celebrations in 2013 was the official golden jubilee observance which symbolically commemorates the sacrifices of the nation's security officers, in which it became the main focus and theme in response to the consequences brought in by the 2013 Lahad Datu stand-off, in which that year's celebrations were observed as a mark of tribute and respect to the casualties of the incursion (both personnel and civilians alike) in addition to reaching a milestone of 50 years since the establishment of the country on 16 September 1963.[ citation needed ]
In conjunction with the 55th anniversary celebrations in 2018 under the new, but short-lived Pakatan Harapan (PH) government, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad promised to restore a more autonomous status to Sabah and Sarawak in accordance with the original Malaysia Agreement, changing "their status from merely a state to an equal partner of the Malayan states." [6] [7]
Two years later in 2020 (just a decade into the celebration's gazetting as an additional public holiday), Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin of the Perikatan Nasional-Gabungan Parti Sarawak-Barisan Nasional-United Sabah Party current-ruling cum returning coalition unity government made a similar pledge. [8]
16 September is also Malaysian Armed Forces Day, in which this was the very same day it was established, 30 years prior to the Formation of Malaysia way back during the British colonial era in the year 1933.[ citation needed ]
Malaysia Forever was a song composed by Bobby Gimby to celebrate the Formation of Malaysia on 16 September 1963. Bobby Gimby received the nickname "The Pied Piper of Canada" after the Prime Minister nicked Gimby "the Pied Piper from Canada". The song was recorded in Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. It is a folk song with a length of 2 minutes sung by the Choir of the Marymount Vocational School (Singapore). On the days before the merger, it was taught to school children and became an instant hit when it was broadcast over the air-waves throughout Malaysia. [9] [10]
The Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation or Borneo confrontation was an armed conflict from 1963 to 1966 that stemmed from Indonesia's opposition to the creation of the Federation of Malaysia. After Indonesian president Sukarno was deposed in 1966, the dispute ended peacefully and the nation of Malaysia was formed.
The national flag of Malaysia, also known as the Stripes of Glory, is composed of a field of 14 alternating red and white stripes along the fly and a blue canton bearing a crescent and a 14-point star known as the Bintang Persekutuan. The 14 stripes, of equal width, represent the equal status in the federation of the 13 member states and the federal territories, while the 14 points of the star represent the unity between these entities. The crescent represents Islam, the country's state religion; the blue canton symbolises the unity of the Malaysian people; the yellow of the star and crescent is the royal colour of the Malay rulers.
The states and federal territories of Malaysia are the principal administrative divisions of Malaysia. Malaysia is a federation of 13 states (Negeri) and 3 federal territories.
Public holidays in Malaysia are regulated at both federal and state levels, mainly based on a list of federal holidays observed nationwide plus a few additional holidays observed by each individual state and federal territory. The public holidays are a mix of secular holidays celebrating the nation and its history, and selected traditional holidays of the various ethnic and religious groups that make up the country.
Independence Day, is the official independence day of Malaysia. It commemorates the Malayan Declaration of Independence of 31 August 1957, and is defined in Article 160 of the Constitution of Malaysia. The day is marked by official and unofficial ceremonies and observances.
The North Borneo Federation, also known as North Kalimantan or Negara Kesatuan Kalimantan Utara in Malay, was a proposed political entity which would have comprised the British Colonies of Sarawak, British North Borneo and the protectorate of Brunei.
The Malaya and British Borneo dollar was the currency of Malaya, Singapore, Sarawak, North Borneo, Brunei and Riau archipelago from 1953 to 1967 and was the successor of the Malayan dollar and Sarawak dollar, replacing them at par. The currency was issued by the Board of Commissioners of Currency, Malaya and British Borneo. Prior to 1952, the board was known as the Board of Commissioners of Currency, Malaya.
This article lists important figures and events in Malayan and Malaysian public affairs during the year 1963, together with births and deaths of significant Malaysians. The Federation of Malaya merged with Singapore, North Borneo, and Sarawak to form the Federation of Malaysia on 16 September.
Merdeka is a word in the Indonesian and Malay language meaning independent or free. It is derived from the Sanskrit maharddhika (महर्द्धिक) meaning "rich, prosperous and powerful". In the Malay archipelago, this term had acquired the meaning of a freed slave.
Singapore, officially the State of Singapore, was one of the 14 states of Malaysia from 1963 to 1965. Malaysia was formed on 16 September 1963 by the merger of the Federation of Malaya with the former British colonies of North Borneo, Sarawak and Singapore. This marked the end of a 144-year British rule in Singapore which began with the founding of modern Singapore by Sir Stamford Raffles in 1819. At the time of merger, it was the smallest state in the country by land area.
The Cobbold Commission, was a Commission of Enquiry set up to determine whether the people of North Borneo and Sarawak supported the proposal to create the Federation of Malaysia consisting of Malaya, Brunei, Singapore, North Borneo, and Sarawak. It was also responsible for the subsequent drafting of the Constitution of Malaysia prior to the formation of Malaysia on 16 September 1963. The Commission was headed by former Bank of England governor, Lord Cobbold.
The 20-point agreement, or the 20-point memorandum, is a list of 20 points drawn up by North Borneo, proposing terms for its incorporation into the new federation as the State of Sabah, during negotiations prior to the formation of Malaysia. In the Malaysia Bill of the Malaysia Agreement some of the twenty points were incorporated, to varying degrees, into what became the Constitution of Malaysia; others were merely accepted orally, thus not gaining legal status. The 20-point agreement often serves as a focal point amongst those who argue that Sabah's rights within the Federation have been eroded over time.
Malaysia's armed forces, which encompasses three major branches, originate from the formation of local military forces in the first half of the 20th century, during British colonial rule of Malaya and Singapore prior to Malaya's independence in 1957. The branches have undergone several restructuring, but fundamentally includes the army, navy and air force.
The Malaysia Agreement or the Agreement relating to Malaysia between United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Federation of Malaya, North Borneo, Sarawak and Singapore (MA63) was the agreement which combined North Borneo, Sarawak, and Singapore with the existing states of the Federation of Malaya, the resulting union being named Malaysia. Singapore was later expelled from Malaysia, becoming an independent state on 9 August 1965.
The Malaysia Act 1963 was an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom. It came into operation on 31 July 1963.
The Proclamation of Malaysia was a statement, written in English and Malay, that declared the merger of the Federation of Malaya with the British crown colonies of North Borneo, Sarawak and Singapore into the new Federation of Malaysia, following the enactment of the Malaysia Agreement and the Malaysia Act 1963 that July. The merger came into effect on 16 September 1963, and the proclamation was delivered on that date by Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman in the Stadium Merdeka in Kuala Lumpur.
The Sarawak Sovereignty Movement or SSM is an apolitical civil movement which was officially launched in Kuching, Sarawak on 13 April 2013.
Sarawak Independence Day or Sarawak Day is a holiday observed on 22 July every year by the state of Sarawak in Malaysia, celebrating the establishment of self-government and de facto independence on 22 July 1963.
North Borneo Self-government Day is a self-government day celebrated on 31 August every year by the state of Sabah in Malaysia. Since 2012, the holiday has been received widely by the Sabah state government and the citizens of Sabah, as the Hari Merdeka was not the right celebration day for the state.
On 4 April 2019, a bill proposing an amendment to the Constitution of Malaysia was tabled in the Dewan Rakyat of the Parliament of Malaysia. The bill proposes to amend Article 1(2) so as to restore the status of the two East Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak according to the original content of Malaysia Agreement that was signed in 1963.