Malaysia Day

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Malaysia Day
Malaysia Day Event 2011.jpg
Malaysia Day celebrations in 2011
Official nameHari Malaysia
Observed by Malaysians
TypeNational
SignificanceMarks the establishment of the Malaysian federation
Date16 September
Next time16 September 2026 (2026-09-16)
FrequencyAnnual

Malaysia Day (Malay : Hari Malaysia) is a public holiday observed nationwide on 16 September each year since 2010. It marks the anniversary of the signing of the Malaysia Agreement, which came into effect on that date in 1963 and led to the creation of Malaysia. The agreement brought together the Malaya (independent since 1957), North Borneo (later renamed Sabah), Sarawak and Singapore into a single federation. Singapore was later expelled from the federation on 9 August 1965, and Malaysia Day is no longer observed there.

Contents

In East Malaysia, many regard Malaysia Day as the country's true "national day", arguing that 31 August commemorates the independence of Malaya, which was a separate political entity to Malaysia. [1]

History

Union of Malaya, Singapore, Sarawak and North Borneo

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 of Malaya. Several issues relating to the objections of neighbouring Indonesia and the Philippines to the formation of Malaysia delayed the declaration further to 16 September of the same year. [2] [3] No referendum was conducted in North Borneo or Sarawak; instead, the United Nations (UN) carried out a general survey involving interviews with approximately 4,000 people and receiving 2,200 memorandums from groups and private individuals. The Cobbold Commission, led by Cameron Cobbold, 1st Baron Cobbold, was also established to assess whether the peoples of North Borneo and Sarawak wished to join Malaysia. The Commission's findings indicated substantial support for the formation of Malaysia among the peoples of Sabah and Sarawak as equal partners. Meanwhile, Singapore held a referendum on 1 September 1962, in which all three options endorsed integration into Malaysia based on varying degrees of autonomy, with no option to reject the merger. [4]

The formation of Malaysia proceeded under the terms of the Malaysia Agreement, signed in 1963 by the United Kingdom, the Federation of Malaya, Sarawak, North Borneo, and Singapore. This agreement established the conditions under which the component states would be federated under a new constitution. It included in its annexes the "Malaysia Bill" (Annex A) and the constitutions of Sabah (Annex B), Sarawak (Annex C) and Singapore (Annex D). Prior to the federation, Singapore had achieved self-governance on 3 July 1959 and Sarawak had achieved self-governance on 22 July 1963. [5] The "Malaysia Bill" was introduced in the Malayan Parliament on 9 July 1963 and received royal assent from Tuanku Syed Putra, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, on 29 August 1963. [2] North Borneo (now Sabah) became self-governing on 31 August 1963, coinciding with the sixth anniversary of Malayan independence and marking the original intended date for the Malaysia Agreement. [6]

Until 2010, Malaysia Day was generally regarded as less significant, particularly in West Malaysia, and was not commemorated annually. The first two unofficial observances occurred in 1973, marking a decade since the federation's creation, and in 1988, celebrating the silver jubilee of Sabah and Sarawak's accession into the federation as member states. It was only in 2010 that Malaysia Day was formally recognised as a nationwide public holiday after lobbying by East Malaysians, acknowledging its importance in commemorating the federation and recognising the contributions of Sabah and Sarawak to the formation of the nation. [7]

Elevated to national holiday

Prior to 2010, Malaysia Day was observed as a state public holiday only in Sabah and Sarawak, with subsequent unofficial commemorations in 1993 – pearl jubilee or 30th anniversary, 1998 – coral jubilee or 35th anniversary, 2003 – ruby jubilee or 40th anniversary, and 2008 – sapphire jubilee or 45th anniversary. [8]

Prime Minister Najib Razak announced during a parliamentary Q&A session on 19 October 2009 that Malaysia Day would become a nationwide public holiday beginning in 2010, giving Malaysians two celebrations related to the country's independence and sovereignty. [7] [9] The inaugural nationwide celebrations began in 2011, when Hari Merdeka was observed simultaneously due to that year's 31 August coinciding with Eid-ul-Fitr celebrations. [10]

Subsequent Malaysia Day celebrations marked important milestones. For the 55th anniversary in 2018, under the Pakatan Harapan government, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad had pledged to restore a more autonomous status to Sabah and Sarawak in accordance with the original Malaysia Agreement, recognising them as equal partners rather than mere component states. [11] [12] After the failure of the proposed 2019 amendment to the Constitution of Malaysia, In 2020, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin reiterated a similar commitment to maintaining Sabah and Sarawak as equal partners in the federation. [13] A similar amendment in 2021 passed under Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob. [14]

Celebration locations

Ever since Malaysia Day began to be officially celebrated in 2011, national-level celebrations have been held in various cities across Malaysia, but more so in East Malaysia. In 2020 and 2021, smaller scale celebrations were held due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [15]

CityYears host
Kuala Lumpur 2011 [16]
Bintulu 2012, 2016 [17] [18]
Kuching 2013, 2019, 2023 [19] [20] [21]
Miri 2014 [22]
Kota Kinabalu 2015, 2017, 2018, 2021, 2024 [23] [24] [25] [26]
Sibu 2020 [15]
Malacca City 2022 [27]
Butterworth 2025 [28]
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Locations of national-level Malaysia Day celebration

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. The song fell out of use when Singapore was expelled from Malaysia and became its own sovereign country. [29] [30]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Adrian Lim Chee En (30 August 2016). "Stop celebrating 'Hari Merdeka Malaysia'". Malaysiakini . Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  2. 1 2 A marriage that was doomed from the start. New Straits Times . 4 August 2007.
  3. ↑ Looi Sue-Chern (15 September 2014). "Sabah and Sarawak deserve better, says Guan Eng in Malaysia Day message". The Malaysian Insider . Archived from the original on 18 September 2014. Retrieved 18 September 2014.
  4. ↑ "Singapore votes in the referendum on merger". www.nlb.gov.sg. National Library Board. December 2015. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
  5. ↑ Frans Welman (9 March 2017). Borneo Trilogy Sarawak: Volume 2. Booksmango. pp. 134–. ISBN   978-616-245-089-1 . Retrieved 31 August 2013.
  6. ↑ Frans Welman (9 March 2017). Borneo Trilogy Volume 1: Sabah. Booksmango. pp. 159–. ISBN   978-616-245-078-5 . Retrieved 31 August 2013.
  7. 1 2 Choo, Nick (19 October 2009). "M'sia Day a public holiday from 2010". The Nut Graph. Archived from the original on 19 February 2025. Retrieved 15 August 2025.
  8. ↑ Seraj, Zaf (16 September 2024). "Merdeka Day and Malaysia Day: So why do we have two national days?". www.malaymail.com. The Malay Mail . Retrieved 2 September 2025.
  9. ↑ Yeng Ai Chun (19 October 2009). "Malaysia Day now a public holiday, says PM". The Star. Archived from the original on 20 October 2009. Retrieved 16 September 2012.
  10. ↑ "[FULL RTM] Sambutan Hari Merdeka / Malaysia 2011 (Malaysia National Day Parade 2011)" (video). youtube.com. TV1 via wmsif. 16 September 2011. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
  11. ↑ Stephanie Lee; Fatimah Zainal (16 September 2018). "Sabah, Sarawak to be restored as equal partners forming Malaysia, says Dr M". The Star. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
  12. ↑ "Sabah, Sarawak to be restored as equal partners forming Malaysia, not just component states, says PM Mahathir". The Star/Asia News Network. The Straits Times. 16 September 2018. Archived from the original on 17 September 2018. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
  13. ↑ Koya, Zakiah (17 September 2020). "Sabah, Sarawak our equal partners". TheStar. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  14. ↑ Yunus, Arfa (14 December 2021). "Dewan Rakyat approves constitution amendments to empower Sabah, Sarawak". New Straits Times. Retrieved 6 January 2022.
  15. 1 2 "57th Malaysia Day celebration demonstrates closeness of Sabah, Sarawak and the peninsula". Malay Mail. 16 September 2020. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
  16. ↑ "Hari Malaysia, Kemerdekaan Disambut Serentak Penuh Gilang-Gemilang" (in Malay). MStar. 16 September 2011. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
  17. ↑ Hazmin Hamudin (16 September 2012). "Selamat Menyambut Hari Malaysia 2012" (in Malay). Hazmin Hamudin. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
  18. ↑ "Sambutan Hari Malaysia penuh sejarah" (in Malay). Utusan Borneo. 17 September 2016. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
  19. ↑ "Hari Malaysia Ke-50 Disambut Meriah Penuh Warna-Warni" (in Malay). MStar. 16 September 2013. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
  20. ↑ Mohd Roji Kawi (15 September 2019). "Jerebu tidak jejas Sambutan Hari Malaysia 2019" (in Malay). Berita Harian. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
  21. ↑ Mohd Roji Kawi (9 August 2023). "Sarawak tuan rumah Hari Malaysia 2023" (in Malay). Berita Harian. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
  22. ↑ "Sambutan Hari Malaysia meriah" (in Malay). Berita Harian. 17 September 2014. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
  23. ↑ "Hari Malaysia disambut meriah, penuh warna warni" (in Malay). Berita Harian. 17 September 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
  24. ↑ "Sekitar sambutan Hari Malaysia 2017" (in Malay). Berita Harian. 16 September 2017. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
  25. ↑ Izyan Liyana Md. Darif, Noor Hasliza Nusi and Nur Amalia Azri (16 September 2018). "Sambutan Hari Malaysia berbeza". Utusan Malaysia (in Malay). Retrieved 25 August 2023.
  26. ↑ Izwan Abdullah (13 September 2021). "Perdana Menteri dijadual hadir sambutan Hari Malaysia" (in Malay). Berita Harian. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
  27. ↑ "Kira-kira 20,000 pengunjung dijangka meriahkan Sambutan Hari Malaysia 2022 di Melaka" (in Malay). Astro Awani. 6 September 2022. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
  28. ↑ "Sambutan Hari Malaysia 2025 Di P. Pinang Tampil Kepelbagaian Seni, Budaya". BERNAMA (in Malay). 4 September 2025. Retrieved 5 September 2025.
  29. ↑ "Malaysians Should Reflect On Lyrics From Malaysia Forever". The Rakyat Post. 15 September 2015. Archived from the original on 15 March 2019. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
  30. ↑ Listen to Music on YouTube
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