“On July 2, 1996, the aliens came. On July 3, 1996, the aliens saw and struck. On Independence Day 1996, the human race will CONQUER!” – President Thomas J. Whitmore (acted by Bill Pullman in Independence Day or ID4)
Read that part when the fictional American president said “On Independence Day 1996, the human race will conquer!” Thanks to the brave American warriors and their superior intellectual brains, all nations of the Earth — that means you and I — are liberated from the…er…evil…aliens. What the fictional American president actually implies here is that 4th of July will not only become the American independence day but it will also become the world’s independence day!
Sounds familiar? Imagine if all countries around the world share the same date for independence day? What will it be like? Not only the chronological histories per se change but also the values that go along with those histories. It’s like how the whole world today associates with that 9/11 thing (instead of ’11 September’) as if terrorism had never occurred any where else in the world before then.
Well, unlike in (the fictional year) 1996, we Malaysians don’t have the aliens to deal with. As an alternative, we have to deal with the everyday people and the state with seemingly selective memory history. Last Sunday on August 26th, the Sunday Post published a front-page article entitled “Malaysia: 44 or 50?”, which questioned the age of our country. If you have a copy of the paper, read it yourself. The Borneo Post is was online but now it says “Problem loading page” (check again later…). I am not a history teacher and I do not wish to school you in our beloved nation’s history. But I think our society — especially the younger generation — has a problem with memory. Tomorrow, 31 August is Malaysia’s National Day or Hari Kebangsaan, which commemorates 50 years of independence from the United Kingdom. Now, the question is ‘Was Malaysia on 31 August 1957 formed as a state?’ The answer is no. Our history books say that Malaya gained its political independence from the Brits in 1957. On 31 August 1957, Malaya became a state, not Malaysia. Before 1963, Singapore, Sarawak and Sabah were still British colonies. The Federation of Malaysia was formed on 16 September 1963 and Malaysia as a state only existed on that September day of 1963. By taking this into account, Malaysia since 16 September 1963 is 44 years old. Not 50 years old.
Some people I know said that it’s not good to talk about such ‘sensitive issues’. What sensitive issues? I thought it would be more insensitive not to talk about it. Isn’t it? They cite the American example (again, see? American example…no wonder our flag almost resembles theirs). The American example is this — and sometimes, they cite it without properly thinking about it: Hawai’i became the United States of America’s 50th state in August 1959. They ask me “And do you hear any Hawai’ians wanting the American Independence Day shifted from 4th of July to 21st of August? No, right?” Well, frankly speaking I’ve never heard any Hawai’ians complaining about these dates though I know that many talk about American cultural imperialism and what-have-you. And I think they’d celebrate the 4th of July like their other fellow American states without qualm about being part of the USA a bit later. Well, to be exact — 183 years, 1 month and 17 days later! And therefore, if you don’t hear the Hawai’ians whining about those stupid dates then why would a Sarawakian like me should make a big hoo-haa badaboom about it?
Well, I am not making a hoo-haa badaboom about the stupid dates. I am making a hoo-haa badaboom about Malaysians who have forgotten about our own history (or histories), taking everything else as “historical facts” and thus, “the truth”, which then leads to the abandonment of our values. History is not merely a chronological order of dates, years or events. It is about our values as citizens of this country.
And those who cite the Hawai’i example, do your homework. When the 13 states gained independence from the British on 4th July 1776, the United States of America was formed as a nation-state. That means, the American state had already existed on that day, that month and that year. When Hawai’i joined the USA in 1959, the American state was already established more than 180 years earlier.
Now, let’s look at Malaysia. 31 August 1957 signifies the formation of the Malayan state as an independent country. There was no Malaysia. Malaysia as a state did not exist then and therefore, there is no such crap as Singapore, Sarawak and Sabah joining Malaysia in 1963.
16 September 1963 signifies the formation of the Federation of Malaysia, comprising of Malaya, Singapore, Sarawak and North Borneo (Sabah). Malaysia as a state was established on that day of September 1963 and this establishment was a result of equal partnership between Malaya, Singapore, Sarawak and Sabah. Contrary to the ignorant statement among some Malaysians, Singapore, Sarawak and Sabah did not join Malaysia. Singapore, Sarawak and Sabah formed Malaysia as a nation-state together with Malaya.
I don’t have issues with this Hari Kebangsaan thing because it’s not an issue in itself. I have issues with people who easily forgets.
lest we forget…lest we forget