CALL FOR MALAYSIA DAY BE MADE PUBLIC HOLIDAY

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 27 (Bernama) -- The government should consider making Sept
16 a public holiday since it has agreed the date when Malaysia was formed, to be
celebrated as Malaysia Day.

Well-known historian, Prof Emeritus Dr Khoo Kay Kim, in making the
suggestion, said based on historical facts, the date was important and apt to be
declared a public holiday.

"Sept 16 is an important reminder of Sabah and Sarawak joining the
Federated Malay States in 1963 to form the Federation of Malaysia.

"Therefore, why can't we compromise by making Sept 16 part of the major
national day celebration and make it a public holiday?" he told Bernama.

The history professor was asked to comment on the statement by Unity,
Culture, Arts and Heritage Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal yesterday that
the government had agreed to make Sept 16 Malaysia Day and celebrated
nationwide.

Mohd Shafie had also said that Malaysia Day should be made more significant
throughout the country compared with previously where the celebration was
concentrated in Sabah and Sarawak.

The Malaysia Day celebration this year will be held on Oct 18 in Sabah as
Sept 16 fell during the fasting month of Ramadan.

Khoo, who is also Suhakam (Malaysian Human Rights Commission) commissioner,
said that Sept 16 should be the height of the independence celebrations after
Aug 31.

"We begin on Aug 31 and reach the climax of the celebrations on Sept 16,
with the start and final day -- a gap of two weeks -- be declared public
holidays. This shouldn't be too difficult," he said.

Meanwhile, a senior lecturer with Universiti Putra Malaysia's Faculty of
Human Ecology, Dr Sarjit Singh Gill, said declaring Sept 16 a public holiday to
celebrate Malaysia Day would give greater meaning and recognition to Sabah and
Sarawak's entry into the Malaysian federation.

He said that both celebrations (Independence Day and Malaysia Day)
would help boost the spirit of unity and integration among the multi-ethnic
population and separated by the South China Sea.

Sarjit said making Malaysia Day a public holiday would also create a
greater sense of belonging, especially for the people of Sabah and Sarawak as
Malaysian citizens.

However, former lecturer with Universiti Malaya's Department of Sociology
and Anthropology, Dr Rokiah Talib, had a different reaction, saying that the
government must study the proposal carefully before making a decision.

Her concern was that national productivity could be affected by too many
public holidays.

"Malaysians are already enjoying many public holidays," she said, although
she agreed that a public holiday to celebrate Malaysia Day could bring Sabahans
and Sarawakians closer to fellow Malaysians in the peninsula.