Deputy chief minister Jeffrey Kitingan said he has prepared a Cabinet paper to gazette Sabah Day, which has been one of the main annual celebrations for his party, the Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (STAR).

“STAR has always celebrated Sabah Day. Some people argue that there is no need for another public holiday because Aug 31 is already a public holiday. That, however, is not the point,” he said in a statement today.

“We want to recognise Aug 31 as Sabah Day to celebrate our independence day, not National Day that celebrates Malaya’s independence day.

“In other words, we want what Sarawak has.”

Sarawak had gazetted July 22 as Sarawak Day, starting in 2016, making it a state holiday.

Kitingan is confident that Sabah Day could be formally gazetted next year and a celebration can be safely held once Covid-19 is brought under control.

However, he said, such an important gazettement requires the unanimous support from the Sabah state assembly, which is unable to convene because of the emergency.

Kitingan had said last year that Sabah should officially recognise Aug 31 as the state’s independence day, marking the end of British rule that year, and make the day a state holiday.

He said Sir William Goode, the last British governor of North Borneo – as Sabah was known then – had declared Aug 31 as a historic day marking the beginning of self-government and independence and the end of colonialism.

The state legislative council had unanimously adopted a resolution on Aug 8, 1963, that Sabah would be independent on Aug 31, regardless of whether Malaysia came into being that day.

The formation of Malaysia, scheduled for Aug 31, 1963, was delayed until Sept 16 while awaiting the results of a United Nations referendum conducted among the people of Sabah and Sarawak.