The period from mid-August to mid-September is the month of “three national days” in the two Southeast Asian nations of Singapore and Malaysia. August 9 is Singapore’s National Day, August 31 is Malaysia’s Independence Day, and September 16 is Malaysia Day. All three days are public holidays in their respective countries.
August 31, known as Hari Merdeka (“Independence Day”) or Hari Kebangsaan (“National Day”) in the Malay language, commemorates the earliest event, which was Malaya’s declaration of independence from British rule on that day in 1957. That was not a typo. August 31, 1957 was the day that Malaya, not Malaysia, became independent. Back then, the country called “Malaysia” did not exist.
Malaya was what is known today as Peninsular Malaysia, or West Malaysia. It comprised the nine royal states of Johor, Kedah, Kelantan, Negri Sembilan, Pahang, Perak, Perlis, Selangor and Terengganu, and the two gubernatorial states of Melaka and Penang, all of which were British possessions in one form or another.
Celebrating August 31 as Malaysia’s national day is somewhat controversial because many believe that it excludes the other half of the nation, East Malaysia. This is where Malaysia Day comes into the picture.On September 16, 1963, the nation called Malaysia came into being. It was a federation of four entities that used to be British possessions in Southeast Asia: the abovementioned Malaya, Sabah (formerly known as British North Borneo), Sarawak and Singapore. Brunei had been invited to join Malaysia but it politely declined.
For many, September 16, and not August 31, is Malaysia’s “true” national day, a day of great significance for all of the country’s 13 states. But in any celebration of Malaysia Day, there’s that relative that no one wants to talk about: Singapore.Anwar Ibrahim spurning official car is like a mandarin riding on horseback
What had been four members in the Malaysian family, formed in 1963, were suddenly reduced to three on August 9, 1965, when Singapore ceased to be part of the federation and became an independent country.
The great reluctance with which Singapore obtained its independence, and the tears of its leader that accompanied the event, is surely unique in the history of modern nation states.
That day of sadness and foreboding in 1965 is celebrated with great fanfare in Singapore today. Last week’s National Day was special for me personally because my nephew, who was born almost 40 years after independence and who is serving his national service in the military, marched in the National Day Parade as a member of the guard of honour contingent.
Malaysians and Singaporeans who are observing their respective national days during this period would do well to remember that, as modern nation states, their countries are relatively young, and that their current forms and national borders are not a matter of course.
What passes for a permanent, “natural” state of affairs, from the perspective of those living in any given period, is often a blip in human history.
Before the British formally carved Singapore out as a separate crown colony in 1946, the island was culturally and politically very much a part of its peninsular hinterland for more than half a millennium. The island and the peninsula had been together much longer than they have been apart.
Country names change, so will China’s change if it reunifies with Taiwan?
In contrast, the more recent union between East and West Malaysia, which are physically separated by the South China Sea, had more to do with geopolitics in the 1960s than with historical or cultural affinity between them.
And yet, things stand as they do today. What tomorrow will bring, we can only guess. Until then, happy 58th and 60th birthdays to Singapore and Malaysia respectively, and congratulations to the 11 states in West Malaysia on your 66th year of independence!
