Kota Kinabalu: Malaysians are still divided on the date of birth of the nation but the bottom line is, the facts of history cannot be distorted, said Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Tan Sri Bernard Dompok.
Opening the seminar on "The Formation of Malaysia and Constitutional Rights of the States of Sabah and Sarawak", Saturday, Dompok said the issue had caused some Malaysians calling other Malaysians 'unpatriotic' for insisting on the date of Sept 16, 1963, which was when Sabah and Sarawak officially joined Malaysia.
"Malaysians in the peninsula are quite oblivious to Sept 16, while in Sabah and Sarawak, most people are adamant that this is the date Malaysia was born.
"My answer is, let us not distort history. It is because we love our country that we want the proper date...I think Sabahans and Sarawakans are zealous about safeguarding their date of independence," he said.
Based on history, Dompok said Sept 16, 1963 should be considered as Malaysia Day as it was the real date for the birth of Malaysia.
"We know of course that there was no Malaysia before Sept 16, 1963.
What existed then was the Federation of Malaya. If we had joined Malaya then, the legitimate date would be Aug 31, 1957, but we did not.
"These are facts of history and I don't think we should change that. That is my point of view ... Aug 31 is independence day for Peninsular Malaysia and probably in the context of Sabah and Sarawak, Aug 31 can still be considered independence day, but Malaysia Day and the birth of Malaysia was on Sept 16."
On another note, he said after 45 years of Malaysia's formation, the people today must feel proud that the country had developed by leaps and bounds.
"Disparities do exist, but by and large we have not suffered the plight of the African states which had similarly gained independence from their colonial masters," he added.
Speaking to reporters later, Dompok said Petronas' representatives had come to see him recently to explain the issue of the 500km gas pipeline from Kimanis in Sabah to Bintulu in Sarawak, of which the status of operations had caused doubts among Sabahans.
Asked if Petronas had confirmed or clarified about continuing the project, he said: "I don't know (about their decision). When they met me, I gave them a piece of my mind and I left it at that.
"But this is not the last of it. I am standing by what Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had informed the people."
Dompok said it was a serious issue for the integrity of the Prime Minister to be questioned by a government-linked company.
In May, Abdullah announced during his visit to Sabah that the gas pipeline project had been scrapped, but it was reported that Petronas had disregarded the announcement and many local leaders had voiced their unhappiness over this, saying that it would not benefit Sabah. - Bernama
Source : Daily express, Sabah
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