Kota Kinabalu: Sabah will celebrate its inaugural Sabah Day on Aug 31 to commemorate the day it became independent from British rule 60 years ago, said Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor.
He said the Sabah Day celebration will be held in Tambunan at 3pm, after the National Day celebration scheduled at Kota Kinabalu in the morning.
Hajiji said the State Cabinet made the decision during its meeting last week and had chosen Tambunan as the venue for the inaugural celebrations.
“It was also decided (by the State Cabinet) that the celebrations to mark Sabah’s important historical milestone, be celebrated annually with the venue to be rotated among the districts.
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According to the statement, Sabah subsequently formed the Federation of Malaysia with Malaya, Sarawak and Singapore on Sept 16, 1963. Tambunan district is located in the interior of Sabah, about 75km southeast of Kota Kinabalu.
Political parties like Sabah Star led by Datuk Seri Dr Jeffrey Kitingan and Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) led by Datuk Seri Yong Teck Lee have been campaigning to mark Sabah Day over the years.
Both parties, now members of the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) government, have called for Aug 31 to be gazetted as Sabah Day, similar to the move by Sarawak to mark July 22 as its independence day.
Sarawak held a grand Statewide celebration on July 22 to commemorate its 60th Independence Day with a public rally in Kuching and concerts by famous local entertainers.
Sarawak Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Minister Datuk Seri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said through the celebrations Sarawakians could appreciate how far the hornbill state has come since independence was declared on July 22, 1963 — roughly two months before Malaysia was formed.
“What is important is that Sarawak is able to celebrate our 60 years of independence. We have managed to build a very united Sarawak. We don’t feel any animosity among our 34 ethnic groups,” he said.
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