Independence Day is a national day
of Malaysia commemorating the independence of the Federation of Malaya
from British colonial rule. It is celebrated on August 31. In a wider
context, it is to celebrate the formation of Malaysia in the early 1950's. The British granted independence to Malaya in 1957 in
Kuala Lumpur's Merdeka Square.
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| Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj |
Tunku Abdul Rahman became the first Prime Minister of Malaya. In 1961,"Malaysia" was born after Tunku Abdul Rahman convinced Singapore, Sabah, and Sarawak to join Malaya in a federal union. Indonesia's president Sukharno afraid that the union would
interfere with his expansionistic plans so he launched attacks against Malaysia
in Borneo and on the peninsula, through which all of the attacks were
unsuccessful.
On the glorious day, crowds gathered to witness
the handover of power from the British. The Queen’s representative, the Duke of
Gloucester presented Tunku Abdul Rahman with the instrument of independence. Then,
Tunku proceeded to read the Proclamation of Independence, which culminated in
the chanting of “MERDEKA” (seven times) with the crowd joining in. The new Flag
of Malaya was raised as the national anthem “Negaraku” (My Country) was played.
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| On the glorious day |
Malaysia was now a mix of people from many races and cultures, and
uniting them all was no small effort. Since the Malays represented the
majority, the constitution gave them a permanent position as head of the
government. Plus, Islam was made as the national religion and Malay as the national
language.
Since independence, Malaysia has undergone tremendous growth and
prosperity and has arguably made
significant progress in race relations. Many attribute that the country's
success lead to the dynamic leadership of Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohammed,
who led the country from 1981 through 2003.
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