Looking forward to the next 50 years.
IN the early years of Malaysia, Aug 31 was never a serious issue in Sarawak and Sabah, though it was widely known that it was the Hari Merdeka of the Federation of Malaya, which had been granted independence by Great Britain that month. At the time, Sabah and Sarawak were still British colonies.
When Sarawak, Sabah and Singapore joined forces to form the Federation of Malaysia in 1963, the day was celebrated as National Day (Singapore celebrating it until 1965).
Not until recently has it become a controversial date as the younger generations of Sarawakians and Sabahans have begun to put the record straight. They say that as the Federation of Malaysia only came into being on Sept 16, 1963, so Hari Merdeka or Hari Kebangsaan for all Malaysians must necessarily fall on that day and no other.
Controversy or not, we are celebrating it again this year this very day. It evokes certain emotions in many people, more in their grandparents than in their grandchildren – a sense of pride of their participation in the campaign against the Malayan Union in 1946 and for full independence of Malaya. When this freedom was eventually achieved 11 years later, it was something to be excited about.
At the same time, Chin Peng’s men and women were also fighting for freedom for Malaya from Britain with him as the eventual boss of a communist state, should he succeed in this quest for power. They probably had a date in mind on which to march in triumph on to Kuala Lumpur and declare that day as the Day of Liberation. The victory parade did not materialise, unfortunately for them but luckily for many of us.
For Bujang Malaya, Awang Raweng, holder of the George Cross, and many others in the Iban Trackers and Sarawak Rangers who had helped fight the communists on behalf of the government of British Malaya during the Emergency and in the early years of Malayan Malaya – losing many of their comrades in the process – the feelings must be a mixture of a sense of pride for having contributed to the victory over the communists. The question of recognition and appreciation by the new country – Malaysia – for what they have done is another matter. Their legacy is real.
Out of respect for those emotions, let’s join in the celebrations today.
Malaysia was proposed to be formed on Aug 31, 1963 when the Malaysia Agreement was signed in London on July 9 that year. It is an accident of history that the proposed date had had to be postponed because of an objection to the formation of Malaysia by Indonesia and the Philippines. Not until the United Nations team had a quick assessment and had concluded that at least one third of the population in Sarawak had opted for Malaysia was the date of Sept 16 in 1963 fixed for the formal birth of the federation.
Any serious harm done by the change of date?
If not, the date as such is not as important as the substance of which the nation is made. In the case of Malaysia, the relevant questions to ask are these: Is Malaysia a good country? Is it a good country in which to live and work and raise children? Is it well run by its politicians? Is it a happy country in the sense that the people are generally happy and contented?
These questions are more important than the date of Merdeka itself.
Each of us will answer the above questions in our own way and at our own pace – some by looking over the shoulders at things done in the past and thinking of the future with head held high; others will have all sorts of ideas with which to improve the lot of Malaysians, yet others wish for a much better deal for Sarawakians than there is now available. It’s legitimate to seek answers to such questions but when answers are not to our satisfaction, or are not clear-cut, the questioner must initiate ways and means by which to find better answers or solutions to the problems from today. It’s your right to right the wrongs and to suggest constructive alternative solutions for the betterment of the country and its people.
That’s the way how we should make Malaysia work for the next 50 years, rather than to wish for something else. My advice in this regard is “better a bird in hand than two in the bush”. Malaysia is a fait accompli and is here to stay, warts and all, and the sensible thing to do is for all Malaysians to think positively of the future. After all, Malaysians are the architects of their own future and fortune.
I have given my views on certain aspects of Malaysia of the past 50 years in a column in another newspaper last year. I have written about regional disparities in terms of physical and political developments and how they ought to be addressed by the politicians in power; about losses of government revenue for Sarawak and Sabah because most wealth from their petroleum is mostly kept by the federal government and how we should get a little more.
I would like to hear views of other Malaysians in respect of these matters too.
In this context, it is interesting to read and reflect on how the historian Steven Runciman, author of the book ‘The White Rajahs’, which looks at the period (1841-1946) in the history of the Brooke Raj. Perhaps, we should look at Malaysia from this angle in our assessment of Sarawak’s progress within Malaysia for the past half a century. Compare and contrast our situation today with that in the Brooke era as seen through a historian’s spectacles.
Runciman says: “History cannot explain the future for us, but it can help to explain the present. If we look with contentment at Sarawak today we must look back too with gratitude at its creators. The White Rajahs had their faults. They suffered mishaps, they sometimes made mistakes. But their achievement was extraordinary. In an age when colonial methods were not
always pretty, when the lust for power or for commercial gain too often dictated policy, they showed how a few Europeans could bring peace and contentment to a fierce and lawless country, with the goodwill and even the love of its peoples. Their weapons were human sympathy, selflessness and a high integrity”.
Substitute “creators” for the signatories to the Malaya Agreement, and “Europeans” for “Malaysian leaders” and note some similarities and the differences.
Now that we have are 51 years old, how will we fare for the next 50 years? Any guess?
My guess: what will be, will be.
Meantime, enjoy the celebrations. There will be more celebrations in mid- September.
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