Hari Merdeka

Merdeka Day (Independence Day)
A man is thrown into the air by a crowd during Merdeka Day celebrations in Merdeka Square, Kuala Lumpur, 2008
Official name	Hari Merdeka
Also called	Merdeka
Observed by	Malaysians
Type	National
Significance	Marks the independence of the Federation of Malaya
Date	31 August
Next time	31 August 2014 (2014-08-31)
Frequency	annual

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Hari Merdeka (Independence Day) is a national day of Malaysia commemorating the independence of the Federation of Malaya from British colonial rule in 1957, celebrated on August 31 each year. This should not be confused with Hari Malaysia (Malaysia Day) when Malaysia was formed on 16 September 1963 together by Federation of Malaya, Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore.

Events leading up to independence

The effort for independence was spearheaded by Tunku Abdul Rahman, the first Prime Minister of Malaysia, who led a delegation of ministers and political leaders of Malaya in negotiations with the British in London for Merdeka, or independence along with the first president of the Malayan Chinese Association (MCA) Tun Dato Sir Tan Cheng Lock and fifth President of Malaysian Indian Congress Tun V.T. Sambanthan. Once it became clear that the Communist threat posed during the Malayan Emergency was petering out, agreement was reached on February 8, 1956, for Malaya to gain independence from the British Empire. However, logistical and administrative reasons led to the official proclamation of independence in the next year, on August 31, 1957, at Stadium Merdeka (Independence Stadium), in Kuala Lumpur, which was purposely built for the celebrations of national independence.

August 31, 1957

On the night of August 30, 1957, crowds gathered at the Royal Selangor Club Padang in Kuala Lumpur to witness the handover of power from the British. Prime Minister-designate Tunku Abdul Rahman arrived at 11:58 p.m. and joined members of the Alliance Party's youth divisions in observing two minutes of darkness.^[1] On the stroke of midnight, the lights were switched back on, and the Union Flag in the square was lowered.^[2] The new Flag of Malaya was raised as the national anthem Negaraku was played. This was followed by seven chants of "Merdeka" by the crowd.^[1][2] Tunku Abdul Rahman later gave a speech hailing the ceremony as "greatest moment in the life of the Malayan people".^[1] Before giving the address to the crowd, he was given a necklace by representatives of the Alliance Party youth in honor of this great occasion in history, with a map of Malaya inscribed on it. The event ended at one in the morning the next day.

On the morning of August 31, 1957, the festivities moved to the newly completed Merdeka Stadium. More than 20,000 people witnessed the ceremony, which began at 9:30 a.m. Those in attendance included rulers of the Malay states, foreign dignitaries, members of the federal cabinet, and citizens.^[3] The Queen's representative, the Duke of Gloucester presented Tunku Abdul Rahman with the instrument of independence.^[3] Tunku then proceeded to read the Proclamation of Independence, which culminated in the chanting of "Merdeka!" seven times with the crowd joining in. The ceremony continued with the raising of the National Flag of Malaya accompanied by the national anthem being played by a military band and a 21-gun salute, followed by an azan call and a thanksgiving prayer in honor of this great occasion.^[3]

The day followed with the solemn installation of the first Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Tuanku Abdul Rahman of Negeri Sembilan, at Jalan Ampang, and the first installation banquet in his honor in the evening followed by a beating retreat performance and a fireworks display. Sports events and other events marked the birth of the new nation.

Attendees

The foreign guests of honour included:

Members of royal families

• The King and Queen of Thailand
• The Crown Prince and Princess of Japan
• The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester (representing The Queen)
  • Prince William of Gloucester

Heads of government

• The Prime Minister South Africa, Johannes Gerhardus Strijdom
• The Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru
• The Prime Minister of Pakistan of Pakistan, Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy
• The Prime Minister of North Vietnam, Phạm Văn Đồng
• The Prime Minister of Ceylon, Solomon Bandaranaike
• The Prime Minister of Burma, U Nu
• The Prime Minister of Cambodia, Sim Var
• The United States Secretary of State, John Foster Dulles (representing President Dwight D. Eisenhower)

Representatives from other British colonies

• The Governor of Hong Kong, Sir Alexander Grantham
• The Chief Minister of Singapore, Lim Yew Hock

Members of the former British colonial administration

• Sir Gerald Templer (former British High Commissioner in Malaya) and Lady Templer
• Lady Gurney (wife of former British High Commissioner in Malaya Sir Henry Gurney)
• Lady Gent (wife of former British High Commissioner in Malaya Sir Edward Gent)

High Commissioners of other Commonwealth countries

• The High Commissioners of Australia, Canada, and New Zealand in Malaya

The formation of Malaysia

The Federation of Malaysia, comprising the States of Malaya, North Borneo (later renamed Sabah), Sarawak and Singapore was to be officially declared on the date August 31, 1963, on the 6th anniversary of Malayan independence. However, it was postponed to September 16, 1963, mainly due to Indonesian and the Philippines' opposition to the formation of Malaysia. Nevertheless, North Borneo and Singapore declared sovereignty on August 31, 1963. Indonesian opposition later escalated to a military conflict. Indonesia considered Malaysia as a new form of colonization on the provinces of Sarawak and Sabah in the island of Borneo (bordering Kalimantan, Indonesia), which they laid claim on.^[4] To assure Indonesia that Malaysia was not a form of neo-colonialism, a referendum, organized by the United Nations, and the Cobbold Commission, led by Lord Cobbold, were formed to determine whether the people of Sabah and Sarawak wished to join Malaysia. Their eventual findings which indicated substantial support for Malaysia among the peoples of Sabah and Sarawak, cleared the way for the final proclamation of Malaysia.

The formation of the Federation of Malaysia was then announced on September 16, 1963, as Malaysia Day. The nationwide Independence Day celebration is still held on August 31, the original independence date of Malaya, while Malaysia Day was a public holiday only in East Malaysia. However, this has caused some minor discontent among East Malaysians in particular since it has been argued that celebrating the national day on August 31 is too Malaya-centric.^[5][6][7] In 2009 it was decided that starting 2010, Malaysia Day would be a nationwide public holiday in addition to Hari Merdeka on August 31.^[8]

Theme

The 2012 theme proved to be controversial, as it was seen by many Malaysians to be a political slogan rather than a patriotic one. The official "logo" was also ridiculed for its unconventional design. A video of the theme song uploaded on YouTube (with lyrics penned by Rais Yatim) garnered an overwhelming number of "dislikes" because of its overtly political content, which had nothing to do with the spirit of independence. The video has since been taken down.^[9]

See also

Wikisource has original text related to this article: Malayan Proclamation of Independence

• Federation of Malaya Independence Act 1957
• History of Malaysia
• Peninsular Malaysia
• Federation of Malaysia
• Hari Merdeka Parade

References

External links

• Merdeka proclamation on YouTube video
• Theme and Logo for Hari Kebangsaan