Sabah deputy chief minister Jeffrey Kitingan has proposed that Sabah Day be celebrated on Aug 8 instead of Aug 31, as is the practice now, to avoid coinciding with the National Day celebrations.
Kitingan said Aug 8 was suitable as it was the date that Sabah’s leaders decided to announce the Bornean state’s independence on Aug 31, 1963, The Borneo Post reported.
On the same date, the North Borneo Legislative Council reaffirmed the decision to form Malaysia with Malaya, Sarawak and Singapore.
“In my personal opinion, Sabah Day should ideally be observed on a separate date, not alongside the National Day celebration on Aug 31, to avoid overlapping significance,” he was quoted as saying.
Nonetheless, the Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (STAR) president said he would discuss the idea with other state government leaders first.
Last year, the Sabah government officially gazetted Aug 31 as Sabah Day, commemorating the day in 1963 that the territory gained self-government after decades as a British crown colony.
Sabah, then known as British North Borneo, was granted self-government on Aug 31, 1963, which the state regards as its day of independence.
It became part of Malaysia, with Malaya, Sarawak and Singapore, on Sept 16 that year.
In 2016, Sarawak gazetted July 22 as Sarawak Day and its day of independence, making it a state holiday.
