47 years since the day of 16 September 1963...

Prologue: Finally a meaningful date for me to finally come out with a post that is actually more meaningful than all the usual random life updates or fillers. It has been one of my blogging tradition since my blog was founded four years ago for me talk about Malaysia Day. Call it my way of honoring the spirit of solidarity in the formation of Malaysia.

...and only now in year 2010 that it is honored accordingly by being gazetted in Official Government Almanac as a Federal Public holiday, celebrated by all Malaysian whether by fellow Malaysia Bornean ie.Sarawakian and Sabahan (like me who has been longing for the longest time *goddammit* to have our day and the spirit of solidarity and unity that comes along with it properly honored) or Peninsular Malayan. (who tend to blissfully ignoring the day itself because it wasn't very much their day.) Hopefully with Malaysia Day being gazetted as official federal public holiday, general public's awareness towards the significance of Malaysia Day will improve for the better.

Persekutuan Malaysia - Federation of Malaysia

Selamat Menyambut Ulangtahun Hari Malaysia yang ke-47 kepada Seluruh Rakyat Malaysia tanpa mengira di mana jua anda berada.

Celebrating the 47th Anniversary of Malaysia Day by all Malaysians, wherever you are.

And as usual, true to their quirky brand image, Digi has come out with a hilarious ad that depicts fellow Malaysians' common love towards one thing: Sambal belacan. Come to think of it, we do add belacan into lots of local Malaysian cuisine!



Despite its fairly stereotypical depiction of Malaysians of various background (with their equally stereotypical depiction of proficiency in Malay! Oh, my ear!), the actor captures all the unique nuances and quirks specific to fellow Malaysians in characters he depicted  and all these elements come together in this ad to achieve comedic effect (ala Mind Your Language-esque) while bringing up the core message: We're All Different. But still same same. Kudos to the creative team behind the advert for presenting the value and various nuances of being Malaysians (You know you can't go wrong with an ad that depicts common love. Especially common love about food!) while at the same time being bone-tickling hilarious! Many lines in the ad are made of pure GOLD! Masuk pedas, keluar pun pedas~~

If I really have to pick bones from this wonderful advertisement, I would say...lines/imagery/depiction/reference related to Sabah and Sarawak appear probably about three seconds (including the two glimpse of traditional Sabah and Sarawak ethnic dance at the very end of the ad). I guess the general discourse regarding portrayal of Malaysian Bornean (Sarawakian and Sabahan) are not considered mainstream...yet.


Epilogue: Just for the reminder of all Malaysian, the gentlemen agreement which sums up all the core values in the formation of Malaysia: The 20/18 Points Agreement of Sabah/Sarawak. Granted, it was only an memorandum submitted by local leaders of Sabah and Sarawak regarding our position within the new federation and the points carried within the memorandum were incorporated into the Federal Constitution 1963, it should be considered as the core document, the trust and mutual consensus, the very foundation towards the formation of Malaysia. Now, fellow Malaysia Bornean (Sabahan and Sarawakian) as well as Peninsular Malayan, looking back 47 years since the formation of Malaysia on 16 September 1963, let's ask ourselves: how much do we honor the founding agreement? How much of it were maintained and how much of it were dishonored? Upon examining the agreement, let's just say...two (or in our case, three) can play the game. Remember Point 7? If all fails, there's only one way to go. And hopefully it will remain the worse case scenario. In fact, I had been pondering (for the longest time about as long as my blog goes) about writing an analysis about the possibilities of peaceful secession of Sarawak from the Federation but lack of motivation and resources (regarding legal status as well as vital statistics and other useful information) got in the way. Let's...continue pondering and follow closely any form of news and development in Sarawak cos as far as I can see, we're inching closer to exciting times! Regionalist (pretty much the way Quebec in Canada.) at heart, yo!

The flag of Kingdom of Sarawak (1870-1946), Crown Colony of Sarawak (1946-1963) and State of Sarawak (1963-1973). 103 years of having same the very same flag. Look at how colourful the history of Sarawak is! From the White Rajahs of the Brooke Dynasty to the anti-cession movement during the crown colony times til the brief independence (technically speaking as the decision making power were transferred from the Crown to Council Negri *in which btw, the very first legislative body of that type in the Federation of Malaysia!* ie. self-government.) granted on July 22 1963 before forming Malaysia a month plus later on 16 September 1963. There's no other more colorful history in any other states in Malaysia except Sarawak. How will the history of Sarawak unfold in the future? But no matter what happen, Vive le Sarawak Libre!