GROWING up as a child in the 1990s, I remember September 16 was then known as the official birthday of the Sabah governor, or Tuan Yang Terutama (TYT), as he is honourably referred to.
It is not. September 16 is actually Malaysia Day.
But it was not until 2009 that September 16 was officially recognised as Malaysia Day with a federal public holiday and commemorative activities.
The state government then decided to move TYT’s official birthday to the first Saturday of October.
Before 2009, Sabahans got to enjoy two public holidays in conjunction with TYT’s birthday: September 16, and the actual birth date of the serving governor.
Most people at the time did not question the state government’s decision to celebrate yet another “TYT Day” in the same year, but it did seem that Sabah was indirectly defying the federal government’s “order” that TYT Day should be on September 16.
This is possibly because Sabahans were eager to see September 16 as a day to commemorate the state forming a country with Sarawak, Malaya and Singapore in 1963.
Perhaps, for many years before 2009, the federal government wanted the people of Sabah to observe September 16 only as TYT Day, using it to steal “attention” away from Malaysia Day.
But why? Is the historical move by Sabah and Sarawak to join hands with Malaya (and Singapore, which later separated) to form a country on September 16, 1963 not an occasion worthy of being celebrated before 2009?
Is August 31, Malaya’s Independence Day, or Merdeka, the only day worth remembering?
If the federal government was indeed intentionally denying Malaysia Day from being observed in Sabah, there may have been no reason other than it did not want Sabahans to remember that Sabah is one of the three territories that form Malaysia – a very important member of the country that deserves more than what it has been given from Putrajaya.
If that is true, all the TYT Days before 2009 were a distraction.
Only in October 2009, when then prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak announced September 16 as Malaysia Day and a public holiday nationwide, was the date no longer observed as TYT Day.
The Sabah government gazette dated July 15 last year said under the holiday ordinance, the first Saturday of October each year will be celebrated as the governor’s birthday, and September 16 will remain Malaysia Day.
Having a TYT Day that is not on September 16 is an important milestone for the state, as Malaysia Day and TYT Day celebrations can now be observed with better focus and a clearer purpose. –The Vibes, October 2, 2021
Rebecca Chong is a journalist with The Vibes based in Sabah
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