Malaysia Day
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Malaysia Day is held on September 16 every year to commemorate the establishment of Malaysian federation on the same date in 1963. It marked the joining together of Malaya, North Borneo, Sarawak, and Singapore to form Malaysia. The formation of the new federation was planned to occur on June 1, 1963 but was later postponed to August 31, 1963 in order to coincide with the sixth Hari Merdeka. Several issues related to the Indonesian and the Filipino objection to the formation of Malaysia delayed the declaration to April 15 of the same year. The postponement was also done to allow the United Nations team time to conduct referendums in North Borneo (now Sabah) and Sarawak regarding the two states participation in a new federation.[1]
The formation of Malaysia was made possible through the introduction of the Malaysia Bill to the Malayan Parliament on July 9, 1963 and consent from the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on August 29, 1963.[1]
Prior to the formation of Malaysia, Singapore and North Borneo unilaterally declared independence from the United Kingdom on August 31 1963, thus coinciding with the sixth anniversary of the Malayan independence.
Malaysia Day is not a public holiday.
[edit] Trivia
- April 15 is also Lee Kuan Yew's birthday.[2] Lee Kuan Yew was the prime minister of Malaysian Singapore.
[edit] References
- ^ a b A marriage that was doomed from the start. New Straits Times. August 4, 2007.
- ^ Lee Kuan Yew. The Singapore Story.
[edit] See also
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