For the 46th year today, Malaysia Day is commemorated in national disunity rather than national unity.
This should not be the case as five months ago, when Datuk Seri Najib Razak become the sixth Prime Minister, he had proclaimed the new motto of “1Malaysia. People First. Performance Now”.
Najib had the opportunity to right the wrongs of the past 45 years with the people of Sabah and Sarawak marginalized from the mainstream of national development although it was the support of the people of Sabah and Sarawak in the political tsunami of the March 8, 2008 general elections which had kept the Barisan Nasional Federal Government afloat.
In the general elections last year Barisan Nasional won 140 Parliamentary seats as against the Pakatan Rakyat’s 82, but 54 of the BN parliamentary seats came from Sabah and Sarawak (Sabah 24 and Sarawak 30).
Without these 54 parliamentary seats from Sabah and Sarawak, BN would be reduced to 86 seats out of 222 MPs in Parliament, evicting the BN from Putrajaya into the Opposition and Najib today would have been Parliamentary Opposition Leader instead of Prime Minister.
So long as Malaysia Day is regarded as a Sabah and Sarawak event rather than as a national celebration, there can be no meaningful 1Malaysia for all Malaysians, regardless of race, religion or territory.
The 52nd National Day on August 31 came and went under very subdued and even somber circumstances, not only because of the A (H1N1) pandemic but because of a recrudescence of communalism, chauvinism and religious intolerance in the country like the cow-head protest sacrilege in Shah Alam three days before National Day.
Everyone noticed the absence of national flags throughout the country whether on buildings or vehicles.
Najib’s 1Malaysia could not have a worse start with this year’s National Day and Malaysia Day.
There can be no meaningful 1Malaysia when Malaysia Day Sept. 16 is regarded as a Sabah and Sarawak event rather than as a national celebration.
Pakatan Rakyat has pledged to do what the Barisan Nasional has failed to do – to declare September 16 as a national public holiday.
This will mean that Malaysia will have two National Days – August 31st as Merdeka Day and September 16 as Malaysia Day.
Malaysia will then join the rank of countries like India and Pakistan which commemorate two National Days a year as national public holidays.
#1 by pulau_sibu on Wednesday, 16 September 2009 - 12:28 pm
Last year, we waited for 16 September.
Another year went by.
Nothing happened.
#2 by Joshua on Wednesday, 16 September 2009 - 12:34 pm
916 is important as if this number when read inverted it is still 916.
What a day to remember when the it is believed that the gold reserve of Bank Negara M’sia is very much depleted or sold off to boost up the Be eNd
illegal govt temporarily while the assets of BNM is also much declined for the year ending April, 2009 from RM507 b to RM350 b.
I hope BNM would confirm the above status esp. the gold reserves.
So what do we expect with Malaysia be it 1Malaysia, two or three when we are heading towards nihilism…
pw: vic sawing
#3 by All For The Road on Wednesday, 16 September 2009 - 1:09 pm
Today 16 September is Malaysia Day.
Sabah and Sarawak are having a holiday today, but NOT in Peninsular Malaysia.
I ask : where is the 1Malaysia concept?
We are still distanced as wide as The South China Sea!
#4 by boh-liao on Wednesday, 16 September 2009 - 1:10 pm
Yup, 916 is a rotational ambigram
HAPPY MALAYSIA DAY, today
The 46th
The Real One to all
#5 by yhsiew on Wednesday, 16 September 2009 - 1:47 pm
There can be no meaningful 1Malaysia when Malaysia Day Sept. 16 is regarded as a Sabah and Sarawak event rather than as a national celebration. (Kit)
============================================
It proves that BN is only interested in the natural resources of Sabah and Sarawak and not the people of that two states.
#6 by Thinking Two on Wednesday, 16 September 2009 - 2:16 pm
916 gold?
#7 by Thinking Two on Wednesday, 16 September 2009 - 2:17 pm
Sabahan and Sarawakian, what are you two waiting for?
#8 by Thinking Two on Wednesday, 16 September 2009 - 2:19 pm
BN may robbed Perak but lost the Putrajaya!
#9 by k1980 on Wednesday, 16 September 2009 - 2:27 pm
Sabahans and Sarawakians need to take a hard look at East Timur, which refused to join Indonesia even under the threat of death.
#10 by ekompute on Wednesday, 16 September 2009 - 3:00 pm
“There can be no meaningful 1Malaysia when Malaysia Day Sept. 16 is regarded as a Sabah and Sarawak event rather than as a national celebration.”
I am sure it is a matter of time before we part ways. If Timor Leste can declare independence, I don’t see why Sabah and Sarawak cannot. If UMNO values the two states, they have to stop treating Sabah and Sarawak like doormats.
Just taking care of a few “leaders” is a good tactical move so far but it just cannot work in the longer term.
#11 by Taxidriver on Wednesday, 16 September 2009 - 3:02 pm
To UMNO Baru 16th September, 1963 is the day Sarawak and Sabah ‘surrendered’ their kayu balak and minyak to negara Malaya. this date has no other significance.
#12 by newchief on Wednesday, 16 September 2009 - 3:17 pm
i totallyagree with Thinking Two about what is E malaysia waiting for. i’m from the east and i have already tried to change the government but we failed because :
looking at the results, bn won mainly because of RURAL AREAS!!! these people are so poor and they said that its their FATE that they are poor!!! as such, bn takes advantage to con them with sweet promises and give them miniture rm100 or 2 packs of sugar, 2 5kg rice and asked them to vote for bn because bn takes care of them. THEY ADMIT THAT BN IS NICE THEREON & THAT’S THE REAL REASON THEY VOTED FOR THEM AND THAT’S DISGUSTING!!
oppositions now in sabah especially only do VOICE BARKING here and there and to the urban people, they look like rabbi-dogs running around!! while bn knew the problems, when they went to remedy it, they CLAIM CREDITS FOR IT!!!
one way to attract the rural folks by the oppositions is to go around ONCE A YEAR to giving small goodies to these folks. no need to promise them good roads because they will have hard time paying the instalments and also the maintenance costs. no need to give them electricity because they can’t pay-give them 10 litres of kerosene and 1 dozen candles and they will treat you as their cousin or even as GOD!!! no need to give them pipe water because they can’t pay either so give them a small water tank is good enough & hope the rain will be their pal.
only when it comes to election, whatever goodies or rinngit spent by bn, the oppositions should double the offer and there will be a chance to win over their hearts!!
further more, must bring along a projector to show the rural people what is it like living under the armpits of bn because the rural people are so poor even to buy newspapers!!! even newspapers that they read are all in bn’s favor!!!
i say again to the oppositions…give goodies better than facilities every year and you will have a chance to reduce the winning rate of bn at east!!! bn only give small goodies during elections especially !!!
#13 by Taxidriver on Wednesday, 16 September 2009 - 6:01 pm
newchief at above #12
Bn can give goodies amounting to tens of millions ringgit and say it is because they are sensitivve to the hardships of the people. Musa Hassan and Ahmad Said will nod in agreement. If PR give small goodies, it will be deemed as CORRUPTION. Even if it is RM1 green packet for Hari Raya is also an offence.
Corruption is corruption no matter how big or small the amount involved. No wonder UMNO Baru/BN leaders steal big amount like Bank Bumi….. kapal selam…….PKFZ ( RM12.5b actually cannot be considered big because many people shared the money )
#14 by ekompute on Wednesday, 16 September 2009 - 10:18 pm
Actually UMNO has only one problem…. its value system.
UMNO’s values is rooted in money and not humanity. No wonder it’s acronym says it all. It’s um…. NO!
#15 by sparrow on Wednesday, 16 September 2009 - 10:22 pm
http://dayakbaru.com/weblog08/2008/06/25/should-sarawak-pull-out-of-malaysia/
I think East malaysia should just quit malaysia. Just like singapore did. Better late than never.
Sabah and Sarawak should be an entity just like Malaya. Now it is treated as a state, and the allocation is just for a state, that is why Sabah and sarawak is rich in nature resources, but still very poor.
quit malaysia is the best long term solution. East malaysia race relation is much better than peninsular.
Mosque/Temple/church located side by side, no one is complaining with cow head.
If east malaysian declare independence, BN will lost their safety deposit.
#16 by vsp on Thursday, 17 September 2009 - 12:20 am
“I want to make it very clear that the word Penang belongs to the state government……” …..Lim Guan Eng, Chief Minister of Penang.
——
Sometimes I wonder whether LGE has lost his marbles, making a statement like that. LGE has the tendency to make gaffes at the most inappropriate moment. He needs to polish up his act so that he won’t become the joker of the Pakatan.
We have Kerismuddin, Mooyiddin, Nazri, Rice Jatim and Zainuddin Maidin in the BN camp who are infamous for their hilarious comments, so do we need similar monkeys from Pakatan as well?
#17 by cintanegara on Thursday, 17 September 2009 - 8:50 am
VSP, Everyone knows how he got the CM post…
#18 by k1980 on Thursday, 17 September 2009 - 9:24 am
Why did Slovenia, Bosnia, Croatia, Montenegro, Macedonia and Kosovo all quit the Federation of Yugoslavia in the 1990s?
Because the Serbs insist on calling themselves “tuans”
#19 by ctc537 on Thursday, 17 September 2009 - 10:02 am
By right, Malaysia means Malaya + Sabah and Sarawak after 1965. From 1963 to 1965, there was a territory whose name also starts with an ‘S’ – Singapore, that formed part of Malaysia. Based on history, we can imagine that the first PM Tunku Abdul Rahman must have spent some time on how to call the new nation when he made the proposal on its formation in 1961. Malaya, Singapore, Sarawak and British North Borneo? Obviously, British North Borneo had to be changed to a name that begins with an ‘S’. Hence the name Sabah comes into being.
The Federal government has to make all-out efforts to forge unity between East and West Malaysia. Look at what has become of East and west Pakistan, now separated and becoming the nations of Pakistan and Bangladesh. Great Britain and Northern Ireland, physically separated, also has faced a lot of problems.
#20 by Voter on Thursday, 17 September 2009 - 11:43 am
i heard rumours said after raya BN will take over selangor. dont know how true it is..
hope PR leader keep connection with all their rep. all times
#21 by cintanegara on Thursday, 17 September 2009 - 12:48 pm
Sparrow….Sarawak has 33 ethnic groups, and the people there have been living peacefully….They are very loyal and grateful to the country that gives them equal opportunity and prosperous….Majority of them join civil service including the Police and Army…their loyalty to the country is unquestionable….why must they quit Malaysia?
#22 by Onlooker Politics on Thursday, 17 September 2009 - 7:39 pm
“Majority of them join civil service including the Police and Army…their loyalty to the country is unquestionable….why must they quit Malaysia?” (cintanegara)
cintanegara finally said something which made some sense! Correct! Correct! Correct! They don’t have to quit Malaysia. They just have to put in a cincerted effort to vote BN out of the Federal Government during the 13th General Election. For Sarawakians, they may even choose to vote BN out of the State Government at an earlier stage, that is to say, by the next state-wide State Assembly election, which may be held in 2010!
#23 by Onlooker Politics on Thursday, 17 September 2009 - 7:40 pm
“cincerted effort” should be amended to “concerted effort”!
#24 by katdog on Thursday, 17 September 2009 - 8:18 pm
It’s nice to recognize Malaysia day as it is an important part of our history.
But personally i think Malaysia has got too many national public holidays already.
#25 by ekompute on Friday, 18 September 2009 - 1:10 pm
“There can be no meaningful 1Malaysia when Malaysia Day Sept. 16 is regarded as a Sabah and Sarawak event rather than as a national celebration.”
Who want it to be meaningful anyway? Sabah and Sarawak was useful to counterbalance the sizeable number of Chinese in Singapore when Malaysia was formed. Now that Singapore has left, it makes no difference whether Sabah and Sarawak exist. Better still they can leave because then UMNO can declare Malaysia as Tanah Melayu, LOL.