KOTA KINABALU: Sabah’s independence from the British on Aug 31, 1963, should be included in history textbooks, says Datuk Seri Dr Jeffrey Kitingan.
The Deputy Chief Minister said a proposal would be made to the Education Ministry.
In June, the Sabah government gazetted Aug 31 as Sabah Day.
Kitingan said historical facts about Sabah’s independence should be included in textbooks so that the younger generation could learn about it.
“Aug 31, 1963, is a historic date that marked the liberation of Sabah from British colonialism but it had never been celebrated for 60 years.
“Sabah Day reinforces Malaysia as a federation and nullifies any claims to the state by the Philippines. It marks the end of the Philippines’ claim to Sabah. This was also a requirement of the Manila Accord during the formation of Malaysia,” he added.
Kitingan said based on historical records, Aug 31, 1963, was designated as Sabah Independence Day, which should have happened simultaneously with the declaration of Malaysia, but the formation of the new nation was only realised on Sept 16, 1963.
“This desire to mark Sabah Day arises because we do not want to be colonised again after being freed from colonialists,” he added.
Kitingan said during the establishment of Malaysia, many processes had to be passed and there were also a lot of opposing voices, including from foreign countries.
“They also had rights towards Sabah and if Malaysia were to be established (at the time), they wanted Sabah to make the decision and asked for intervention from the United Nations.
“This delayed the process of the formation of Malaysia until Sept 16, 1963,” he said.
“However, the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) was already signed on July 9, 1963, when Sabah was still a British colony and Sabah’s independence took place on Aug 31, 1963.”
He said the history of Sabah Day was dropped because when Malaysia was established, the wish of the Sabah leaders at that time was to ensure the state gained independence first before thinking about the formation of Malaysia.
“This lost history is very important because it is the basis when we demanded equal rights with Sarawak and Malaya, which has now become a reality,” said Kitingan, who also chairs the Sabah Day 2024 organising committee.
He said the celebration would be held at Padang Merdeka here from 6pm on Aug 31, after the National Day parade in the morning.
