Malaysia Day
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Malaysia Day ( ms, Hari Malaysia) is a
public holiday A public holiday, national holiday, or legal holiday is a holiday generally established by law and is usually a non-working day during the year. Sovereign nations and territories observe holidays based on events of significance to their history, ...
held on 16 September every year to commemorate the establishment of the
Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
n federation on that date in 1963. This event saw Malaya,
North Borneo North Borneo (usually known as British North Borneo, also known as the State of North Borneo) was a British Protectorate, British protectorate in the northern part of the island of Borneo, which is present day Sabah. The territory of North Borneo ...
(which was renamed Sabah),
Sarawak Sarawak (; ) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia. The largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak is located in northwest Borneo Island, and is bordered by the M ...
, and
Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
unite into a single state. Singapore, however, was expelled from the federation less than two years later, on 9 August 1965.


History

The planned date for the formation of the new federation was 1 June 1963, but the event was postponed to 31 August 1963, to coincide with the sixth anniversary of
Hari Merdeka Independence Day ( ms, Hari Merdeka, also known as ''Hari Kebangsaan'' or "National Day"), is the official independence day of Malaya. It commemorates the Malayan Declaration of Independence of 31 August 1957, and is defined in Article 160 ...
. Several issues relating to the objections of neighbouring
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
and the
Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...
to the formation of Malaysia delayed the declaration to 16 September of the same year. The postponement also allowed the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
team time to conduct a fact-finding mission in North Borneo and Sarawak regarding the two states participation in a new federation.''A marriage that was doomed from the start''. ''
New Straits Times The ''New Straits Times'' is an English-language newspaper published in Malaysia. It is Malaysia's oldest newspaper still in print (though not the first), having been founded as ''The Straits Times'' on 15 July 1845. It was relaunched as the ' ...
''. 4 August 2007.
No referendum regarding federation was ever conducted in North Borneo or Sarawak. Singapore held a referendum on 1 September 1962, with all three options endorsing integration into Malaysia. The formation of Malaysia was done under the basis of the
Malaysia Agreement The Malaysia Agreement or the Agreement relating to Malaysia between United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Federation of Malaya, North Borneo, Sarawak and Singapore (MA63) was the agreement which combined North Borneo, Sarawak, ...
, signed in 1963 by the United Kingdom, the Federation of Malaya, Sarawak, North Borneo, and Singapore. This Agreement set out the terms and conditions for the component States to be federated under a new constitution. This Agreement included in its annexes the "Malaysia Bill" (Annex A), and the constitutions of Sabah (Annex B), Sarawak (Annex C), and Singapore (Annex D). Prior to the formation of Malaysia, Sarawak gained self-governance on 22 July 1963. The "Malaysia Bill" was introduced in the Malayan Parliament on 9 July 1963, and received consent from
Tuanku Syed Putra Tuanku Syed Harun Putra ibni Almarhum Syed Hassan Jamalullail ( Jawi: ; 25 November 1920 – 16 April 2000) was the third Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaya, and later of Malaysia and sixth Raja of Perlis. Early career He was the son of Syed Ha ...
, the
Yang di-Pertuan Agong The Yang di-Pertuan Agong (, Jawi: ), also known as the Supreme Head of the Federation, the Paramount Ruler or simply as the Agong, and unofficially as the King of Malaysia, is the constitutional monarch and head of state of Malaysia. The of ...
on 29 August 1963. North Borneo (now
Sabah Sabah () is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah borders the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and the North Kalimantan province of Indone ...
) only became self-governing from 31 August 1963, which coincided with the sixth anniversary of Malayan independence from the
British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...
and was also the original intended date of the Malaysia Agreement. The first two commemoration anniversaries were celebrated unofficially both respectively in 1973, which marks a decade (10th anniversary) of the federation's existence and also 15 years later in 1988, which marks the silver jubilee (25th anniversary) of independence for Sabah and Sarawak states through their accession into the federation as member states. Prior to 2010, Malaysia Day was observed as a state public holiday only in Sabah and Sarawak (with subsequent unofficial commemoration anniversaries in 1993 – pearl jubilee or 30th anniversary, 1998 – coral jubilee or 35th anniversary, 2003 – ruby jubilee or 40th anniversary and the last being in 2008 – sapphire jubilee or 45th anniversary), but an unofficial patriotic day of observance marked nationally (it marks the end of the annual month-long August–September Independence Month observance) and only the anniversary of the nation's formation.
Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
Najib Razak made the decision after a question-and-answer session at Parliament on 19 October 2009, giving Malaysians two celebrations related to the country's independence and sovereignty. Beginning the year 2010, Malaysia Day became a nationwide
public holiday A public holiday, national holiday, or legal holiday is a holiday generally established by law and is usually a non-working day during the year. Sovereign nations and territories observe holidays based on events of significance to their history, ...
. The inaugural celebrations only began in 2011, in which
Hari Merdeka Independence Day ( ms, Hari Merdeka, also known as ''Hari Kebangsaan'' or "National Day"), is the official independence day of Malaya. It commemorates the Malayan Declaration of Independence of 31 August 1957, and is defined in Article 160 ...
was celebrated albeit simultaneously for that year only (as since it was delayed by a time limit of 2 weeks' late), since that year's annually observed date of 31 August coincided or clashed with that year's
Eid-ul-Fitr Eid al-Fitr (; ar, عيد الفطر, Eid al-Fiṭr, Holiday of Breaking the Fast, ) is the earlier of the two official Islamic holidays, holidays celebrated within Islam (the other being Eid al-Adha). The religious holiday is celebrated by Musli ...
celebrations. The celebrations in 2013 was the official
golden jubilee A golden jubilee marks a 50th anniversary. It variously is applied to people, events, and nations. Bangladesh In Bangladesh, golden jubilee refers the 50th anniversary year of the separation from Pakistan and is called in Bengali ''"সু ...
observance which symbolically commemorates the sacrifices of the nation's security officers, in which it became the main focus and theme in response to the consequences brought in by the 2013 Lahad Datu stand-off, in which that year's celebrations were observed as a mark of tribute and respect to the casualties of the incursion (both personnel and civilians alike) in addition to reaching a milestone of 50 years since the establishment of the country on 16 September 1963. In conjunction with the 55th anniversary celebrations in 2018 under the new, but short-lived
Pakatan Harapan The Alliance of Hope ( ms, Pakatan Harapan; abbrev: PH; stylized as HARAPAN) is a Malaysian political coalition consisting of centre-left political parties which was formed in 2015 to succeed the Pakatan Rakyat coalition. It has been the r ...
(PH) government, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad promised to restore a more autonomous status to
Sabah Sabah () is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah borders the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and the North Kalimantan province of Indone ...
and
Sarawak Sarawak (; ) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia. The largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak is located in northwest Borneo Island, and is bordered by the M ...
in accordance with the original
Malaysia Agreement The Malaysia Agreement or the Agreement relating to Malaysia between United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Federation of Malaya, North Borneo, Sarawak and Singapore (MA63) was the agreement which combined North Borneo, Sarawak, ...
, changing "their status from merely a state to an equal partner of the Malayan states." Two years later in 2020 (just a decade into the celebration's gazetting as an additional public holiday), Prime Minister
Muhyiddin Yassin Tan Sri Dato' Haji Mahiaddin bin Md Yasin (born 15 May 1947), commonly known as Muhyiddin bin Muhammad Yassin ( ms, محيي الدين بن محمد ياسين, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset; ), is a Malaysian politician who serv ...
of the
Perikatan Nasional The National Alliance ( ms, Perikatan Nasional; abbrev: PN) is a political coalition composed of the Malaysian United Indigenous Party (BERSATU), Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) and Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia (GERAKAN). This coalition was pr ...
-
Gabungan Parti Sarawak The Sarawak Parties Alliance ( Malay: ''Gabungan Parti Sarawak''; abbrev: GPS) is a Sarawak-based national political alliance in Malaysia. It was established in 2018 by four former Barisan Nasional (BN) component parties operating solely in S ...
-
Barisan Nasional The National Front ( ms, Barisan Nasional; abbrev: BN) is a political coalition of Malaysia that was founded in 1973 as a coalition of centre-right and right-wing political parties. It is also the third largest political coalition with 30 se ...
-
United Sabah Party The United Sabah Party ( ms, Parti Bersatu Sabah, abbreviated PBS) is a political party of Sabah. The PBS was founded by Joseph Pairin Kitingan in 1985 and it is Sabah's oldest local party. In August 2020, PBS confirmed that they would be usin ...
current-ruling cum returning
coalition A coalition is a group formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political or economical spaces. Formation According to ''A Gui ...
unity government A national unity government, government of national unity (GNU), or national union government is a broad coalition government consisting of all parties (or all major parties) in the legislature, usually formed during a time of war or other nat ...
made a similar pledge.


Other observations

16 September is also Malaysian Armed Forces Day, in which this was the very same day it was established, 30 years prior to the
Formation of Malaysia The Malaysia Agreement or the Agreement relating to Malaysia between United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Federation of Malaya, North Borneo, Sarawak and Singapore (MA63) was the agreement which combined North Borneo, Sarawak, ...
way back during the British colonial era in the year 1933.


In popular culture

Malaysia Forever was a song composed by
Bobby Gimby Bobby Gimby, OC (October 25, 1918 – June 20, 1998) was a Canadian orchestra leader, trumpeter, and singer-songwriter. Biography He was born Robert Stead Gimby (pronounced Jim-bee) in Cabri, Saskatchewan, a small town of about 300 people. ...
to celebrate the Formation of Malaysia on 16 September 1963. Bobby Gimby received the nickname "The
Pied Piper The Pied Piper of Hamelin (german: der Rattenfänger von Hameln, also known as the Pan Piper or the Rat-Catcher of Hamelin) is the title character of a legend from the town of Hamelin (Hameln), Lower Saxony, Germany. The legend dates back to ...
of Canada" after the Prime Minister nicked Gimby "the Pied Piper from Canada". The song was recorded in Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. It is a folk song with a length of 2 minutes sung by the Choir of the Marymount Vocational School (Singapore). On the days before the merger, it was taught to school children and became an instant hit when it was broadcast over the air-waves throughout Malaysia.Listen to Music on
YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...


See also

*
Independence Day (Malaysia) Independence Day ( ms, Hari Merdeka, also known as ''Hari Kebangsaan'' or "National Day"), is the official independence day of Malaya. It commemorates the Malayan Declaration of Independence of 31 August 1957, and is defined in Article 160 ...
*
Sarawak Independence Day Sarawak Independence Day ( ms, Hari Kemerdekaan Sarawak) or Sarawak Day ( ms, Hari Sarawak) is the official independence day celebrated on 22 July annually by Sarawak Sarawak (; ) is a state of Malaysia. The largest among the 13 states, ...
*
North Borneo Self-government Day North Borneo Self-government Day is a Self-governance, self-government day celebrated on 31 August every year by the States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Sabah in Malaysia. Since 2012, the holiday has been received widely by th ...
* 20-point agreement (Sabah) * 18-point agreement (Sarawak) * History of Malaysia *
Singapore in Malaysia Singapore ( ms, Singapura), officially the State of Singapore ( ms, Negeri Singapura), was one of the 14 states of Malaysia from 1963 to 1965. Malaysia was formed on 16 September 1963 by the merger of the Federation of Malaya with the former Br ...
* Malaysia Forever


References


External links

* * {{Malaysia topics Formation of Malaysia National days Malaysian Independence Public holidays in Malaysia September observances