Happy Malaysia Day!

vaelriey (63)in #life • 9 years ago

Happy Malaysia Day, Malaysian!

We have celebrated Independence Day just recently, on the 31 August. But we shouldnt forget about Malaysia Day too. Malaysia Day is just as important.

I am sure all of us know that Malaysia Day is the day when Malaysia was born, comprising of Sabah (North Borneo at the time), Sarawak, Federation of Malaya and Singapore. The day where people from different backgrounds unite and live peacefully together. However, I have forgotten the events that led to the formation of Malaysia, so I took some time to read about it.

Story Time!

The original plan for the formation of Malaysia was to occur on 1 June 1963, but was later postponed to 31 August 1963, to coincide with Hari Merdeka.

However, the proposal was objected by the Philippines and Indonesia, thus postponing Malaysia Day to 16 September.

The Malaysia Agreement 1963, an International Treaty, was signed between the United Kingdom, the Federation of Malaya ( which consist of 11 states, created under the Federation of Malaya Agreement 1957), Sarawak, North Borneo (Sabah) and Singapore.

The terms and conditions of the Malaysia Agreement 1963 was for the states to be federated under a new constituion into a new nation, Malaysia.
Through this Agreement, the “Malaysia Bill” were created by agreement of all parties.
After introducing the Malaysia Bill to the Malayan Parliament on 9 July 1963 and getting consent from Tuanku Syed Putra, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on 29 August 1963, Singapore seceded on 9 August 1965.

Prior to the formation of Malaysia, Sarawak gained its Self-Government Administration on 22 July 1963, while Sabah began Self-Government Administration from the United Kingdom on 31 August 1963.

Since 2010,Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak announced Malaysia Day as a nationwide public holiday. Now we have 2 public holidays regarding Malaysia Independence Day!

What makes Malaysia Malaysia?

Arent we proud of being a Malaysian? Theres no place like Malaysia! But what makes Malaysia Malaysia?

1. Food

No matter how delicious Currywurst or how big the kebab in Germany are, I still miss Malaysian food. Roti Canai, Satay, Nasi Lemak, Rendang, Bak Kut Teh, Laksa, Cendol… You name it, I crave for it everyday while I was in Germany. I even have a list of food I must eat while I am on my holiday in Malaysia. There is nothing like Malaysian Food.

2. Language

Where else can we hear a sentence cosisting of 3 or more language? Here in Malaysia we can hear Malaysian use 4 languages in one sentence and still can understand each other: “Wei Macha(Indian), you want to makan (Bahasa) here or tapao(Mandarin)?”

It is also very common for a Malaysian to speak more than 2 languages. And that does not include dialects. I, myself speak Malay, English, Kenyah and Iban.

3. Holidays

Who doesnt love holiday? Here in Malaysia we are blessed with a lot of public holidays thanks to our multicultural society. We get to enjoy festivities and holidays such as Hari Raya, Chinese New Year, Christmas, Deepavali and Gawai. Besides that, we even get public holidays for special events. Just like when Malaysia won the Sea Games just recently.

If you are a Malaysian, I am sure you agree on these points. On this day, let's remember that regardless of our backgrounds, we have so much in common and Malaysia wont be Malaysia without us.
Let’s celebrate today and wave our flag proudly!