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MIRI – Parti Aspirasi Rakyat Sarawak (Aspirasi) has questioned why the Sarawak government has dropped the term “Sarawak Independence Day” and replaced it with “Sarawak Day” instead on its state government calendar.
In a statement, today, party president Lina Soo called on the state government to provide reasons on why it removed the word “independence”, which “diluted” the significance of July 22, 1963.
“The term Sarawak Independence Day is a gazetted term and had been in the Sarawak government’s calendar since it was gazetted by the then (late) chief minister Tan Sri Adenan Satem in 2016,” she said in a statement.
“The current state government has now removed the word ‘Independence’ and only declared the day as Sarawak Day.
“The historical significance of that day has been reduced and this is an act of dishonour to the late Adenan.
“The current state leaders must answer to the rakyat for this.”
Soo also blasted the state authorities for not listing in its calendar the events that had led to Sarawak becoming an independent nation before the formation of Malaysia.
The calendar, she said, is full of food-related pictures instead.
When Adenan was the chief minister, he had gazetted July 22 as an annual public holiday for Sarawak.
Prior to forming Malaysia along with Sabah and Singapore on September 16, 1963, Sarawak celebrated its independence as a free state on July 22 the same year, having previously been a British crown colony since 1946.
Singapore, however, was kicked out of the federation on August 9, 1965 to become an independent country.
Speaking to The Vibes, Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) information chief Adam Yiy said his party, which is a component of the ruling Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) coalition, was unaware of the change in the term.
“We in SUPP and GPS were not informed of any change in dropping the word Independence from July 22.
“If it was purely administrative in nature, that decision must have been from the state secretarial side, not from GPS,” he said.
Yii, who is also Miri mayor and Pujut assemblyman, added July 22 will always be Sarawak Independence Day no matter the term used. – The Vibes, July 6, 2022
