KENINGAU: The people of Sabah have been urged to respect and celebrate Sabah Day, which will be officially commemorated on Aug 31, for the first time.
Youth and Sports Minister, Datuk Ellron Angin, said it was recently gazetted by the State Government. August 31 1963 was the day British North Borneo (Sabah) was granted self-rule by the Colonial administration, prior to joining Malaya, Singapore and Sarawak to form Malaysia on Sept 16.
He urged leaders and people to come together to enliven the celebration which will be held at Padang Merdeka in Kota Kinabalu.
Earlier in his speech, Ellron said this day is very necessary for a country because it fosters strong cooperation and unity among the people.
He said with this, national stability would exist and development could be carried out rapidly.
“For us at the State leadership level, this is what we hope for. Understanding, cooperation and unity of the people so that we can move together to develop Sabah,” he said.
Meanwhile, Sabah Information Department Director Jainisah Mohd Noor said to further enliven the National Month and Sabah Day celebrations, the Information Department Sabah would also be organising various activities starting Aug 1 throughout the State.
She said this is to further enhance the spirit of nationalism of all agencies, whether government or private, to continue flying the Jalur Gemilang.
“We will also fly our State flag because this year we will have two celebrations: we will celebrate National Day at the State level and we will also celebrate Sabah Day for the first time this year,” she said.
Also present were the Sook Assistant District Officer Caroline Jiugan Benjamin, Sook Community Development Leader (PPM) Tony Talasoi, Tulid PPM Casmir Silip, heads of departments and community leaders.
