Oh Ei Sun and Romzi Ationg – both of whom are from Sabah – believed that it is for this reason that Malaysia Day should also be celebrated by states in Peninsular Malaysia instead of just being rotated between Sabah and Sarawak every year.
Oh, a fellow with the Singapore Institute of International Affairs, said more awareness campaigns should be held primarily in the peninsula compared with the two states in Borneo where people regard Malaysia Day quite highly.
He said efforts must be made to differentiate the significance between Aug 31, which is when Malaya achieved independence (in 1957) and Sabah gained self-rule (in 1963), and Sept 16, 1963 when the federation of Malaysia was born.
“This is because there are still greetings by some in the peninsula with the message that it is the 64th National Day, and this leaves Sabahans and Sarawakians feeling very uneasy,” he told FMT.
“I went for a number of webinars and events and found a lot of our West Malaysian friends having a very Malaya-centric attitude, saying things like ‘hey, just be content as one of the states (and) why are you demanding so much?’.
“They are openly espousing such opinions.”
Tangau had said in a recent online forum that the level of knowledge and awareness among Malaysians on the basic historical facts on the formation of Malaysia was “very low”.
The Upko president said many had also raised the issue of why only Sabah and Sarawak were busy celebrating the birth of Malaysia.
He added the three entities in the federation – Sabah, Sarawak, and the peninsula – should take turns organising the official celebration for Malaysia Day.
Oh concurred with Tangau’s opinion, saying it was indeed frustrating for Sabah and Sarawak to see that it was as if only people from these states cared about Malaysia Day, with only a few of their peninsula counterparts showing any interest at all.
“I think we should rotate the official celebrations among Sabah, Sarawak and Malaya. And when it is the peninsula’s turn, do it in a different state each time, such as Selangor, then Johor, Kedah, and so on.
“This is to make sure every state in Malaysia would also have an awareness of Malaysia Day.
“But this in no way implies that Sabah and Sarawak have the same status as those states because many Sabahans and Sarawakians are of the opinion their states should have equal status with Malaya as a whole and not as one of the Malayan states,” he said.
Romzi echoed Oh’s sentiments, believing the lack of awareness in the peninsula was down to the absence of any major Malaysia Day celebration there.
“Such ignorance or attitude is the reason why some Sabahans and Sarawakian are driven towards supporting the idea of secession from the federation,” he said.
However, another analyst Lee Kuok Tiung disagreed with Tangau, saying there was no concrete evidence from studies or research to gauge the level of awareness of the people in the peninsula of Malaysia Day.
“But we can be sure that the awareness is getting higher by the day as more and more people are interested in the topic of the formation of the federation of Malaysia,” he told FMT.
“I also do not see Merdeka Day being celebrated in a bigger way than Malaysia Day. But I do believe we are in the process of transitioning to emphasising the celebration of Malaysia Day rather than Merdeka Day.”
He is also of the opinion that it did not matter where the official celebration was held, particularly with high internet access now, noting that Sabah and Sarawak should instead treat the opportunity of hosting the event as a privilege.
But more importantly, he said, the authorities must incorporate more facts about the formation of Malaysia while also explaining concepts like federalism in history books used by schools.