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PETALING JAYA: Sabah should officially recognize August 31 as state independence day, which marks the end of British rule in 1963, and make the day a state holiday, STAR President Jeffrey Kitingan said today.
He said the recognition of his independence day would effectively end any move by the Philippines to assert sovereignty over the state.
Kitingan noted that Sarawak had made such a statement in 2016.
He said that Sir William Goode, the last British governor of North Borneo (as the state was known) had declared August 31 as a historic day that marked the beginning of self-government and independence and the end of colonialism.
The state Legislative Council had already adopted a unanimous resolution on August 8, 1963, unilaterally declaring that Sabah would be independent on August 31, regardless of whether Malaysia was created on that day.
(The formation of Malaysia, scheduled for August 31, 1963, was delayed until September 16 pending the results of a United Nations referendum held between the inhabitants of Sabah and Sarawak.)
Kitingan said that the Malaysian Proclamation had referred to Sabah as a “negara” (nation), and the lyrics of the Sabah national anthem also referred to Sabah as an independent country.
Recognizing August 31 as Sabah’s independence day would position the state to seek equal partnership with Sarawak and Malaya in Malaysia, he said, “and consolidate our rights to self-determination as a people.”
