48th year of nation's formation, says State Archives boss
Published on: Thursday, September 08, 2011
Kota Kinabalu: There was no Malaysia prior to September 16, 1963. That fact is on record, said State Archives Director, Datuk Datu Tigabelas Datu Zainal Abidin.Hence, the country is only celebrating the 48th anniversary of its formation this year, he said matter-of-factly, clarifying the perennial "confusion" over the question of how long the country has been in existence."Thanks (goes to) to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak for declaring Sept 16 as our Malaysia Day celebration last year," he said.
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Before the declaration, the peninsula implied Malaysia gained independence in 1957 while the Borneon states insisted on 1963 as the year of formation, he said, adding there is no denying however that Malaya gained independence on Aug. 31, 1957."Confusion came about because Sabah and Sarawak also received independence on Aug. 31, 1963 before forming the nation a few weeks later," Tigabelas added.He stressed both dates should be celebrated but that the younger generation still needs to be educated on the significance on both the formation and independence date.Meanwhile, Tigabelas announced the State Archives will be organising a two-week exhibition entitled "Keagungan Kinabalu", in conjunction with the Malaysia Day celebration, starting from Sept 15 this year.
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"The exhibition is to showcase the significance and pride of our State, Mount Kinabalu as the highest mountain in the nation and also across the South East Asia region," he said.Tigabelas said, the archives will contribute about 250-300 photographs and documentation to the exhibition, some of which have never been displayed before, to promote the State as a tourist spot.
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He said cooperation from tour agencies to bring tourists to visit the exhibition will be much appreciated and towards this end he thanked the Tourism Ministry and Sabah Tourism Board for their help in promoting the event."During the exhibition, historical evidence dating back to 150 years ago since the first recorded climb of the mountain and a replica of the mountain will be on display.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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