BY RACHEL MINA
KUCHING: Do not argue or create unnecessary problems over the celebration of Malaysia Day, said political analyst Datuk Mohd Fadzil Abdul Rahman.
The Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) professor said that while he agrees that the celebration should not be limited to Sabah and Sarawak, he believes that there may be people in the Peninsular Malaysia who do not realise the importance of the day.
However, he emphasised that arguing on how it should be celebrated is pointless.
“It is not important to mark the date for us to unite in celebration, but to instil the value of understanding what it took to establish Malaysia and gain independence.
“Be it Aug 31, Sept 16 or July 22, let us not argue so much on that. Instead, let us observe them as significant dates for Malaysians to demonstrate their loyalty to the country and to understand the struggles of our forefathers to make Malaysia the way it is today,” he said.
He went on to say that, if we were to continue arguing on the issue, how will we ever bring everyone together as a country?
“A date will remain a date; if we’re not patriotic, Malaysia Day or National Day will have no meaning,” he said.
Following that, he reminded the public to be patriotic and to grasp the significance of being Malaysian by learning about the history and significance of these dates.
“Some people said that the National Day celebration should be one month. To me, the actual celebration should be up until Sept 16, to mark the formation of Malaysia in 1963, in which Sabah and Sarawak joined Malaya to form Malaysia,” he added.
