Celebrating our nation’s diversity

ON Friday, we will celebrate Malaysia Day.

For many, it’s just another of Malaysia’s famously numerous public holidays, this time with the chance to make up a long weekend. But for those of us who remember our history, the day is so much more than that.It’s when a unique tapestry of a nation called “Malaysia” was born, 59 years ago.

On Sept 16, 1963, Sabah, Sarawak, Singapore and the Federation of Malaya formed the Federation of Malaysia. (Singapore separated from Malaysia on Aug 9, 1965.)

On Dec 15 last year, the Dewan Rakyat unanimously passed an amendment to clauses of the Federal Constitution to reflect the Malaysia Agreement 1963 and restore the status of Sarawak and Sabah as equal partners with Peninsular Malaysia.

Just looking at the stats makes the move a logical one: Geographically, Sarawak and Sabah are the largest and second largest, respectively, of the territories that make up Malaysia.Sarawak (124,450sq km) is 95.3% the size of Peninsular Malaysia (130,590sq km) or 37.8% of Malaysia’s land area. If you minus Negri Sembilan (6,658sq km), Sarawak is larger than Peninsular Malaysia. And Sabah (73,620sq km) is 22.4% of Malaysia.

The longest river in the country is Sarawak’s 563km Sungai Rajang; the second longest is Sabah’s 560km Sungai Kinabatangan. The 459km Sungai Pahang is the third longest.

The tallest mountain in the country is Sabah’s 4,095m Mount Kinabalu (not Mount KK, please, as some in Peninsular Malaysia mistakenly call it!).

But apart from the dry numbers, Sabah and Sarawak introduced an intangible Bornean flavour to the Federation of Malaysia that, arguably, makes this country unique in the world.

The Federation of Malaya – formed on Aug 31, 1957, following the declaration of independence from the British – was populated largely by Malays, Chinese, Indians, Orang Asli and smaller communities. To that mix, Sabah and Sarawak added Bidayuh, Kadazandusun, Melanau, Bajau, Iban, Iranun, Orang Ulu and other indigenous people.For some in Peninsular Malaysia, these Sabahans and Sarawakians are distant cousins they have never known. The two states in Borneo are, after all, separated from the 11 peninsula states by the South China Sea.Perhaps because of that distance, many are accustomed to thinking that Malaysia is dominated by just the three races: Malays, Chinese and Indians.

In fact, aren’t we all familiar with seeing boxes for Malay, Chinese, Indians and “Lain-lain” (others) to be ticked on almost every government (and even most non-government) forms?

Well, Malaysia Day is a reminder that the nation is also made up of those “Lain-lain”.

Happy Malaysia Day, folks! Let’s celebrate our diversity.