KUCHING: State Assemblyman for Batu Kitang, Dato IR Lo Khere Chiang strongly refuted the recent statement by the Director of the National Archives, insisting that Malaysia’s true date of birth is 1963, not 1957.
“No amount of gold leaf, carvings, or poetic words can change the truth: the Proclamation of Independence 1957 is not Malaysia’s birth certificate. It is Malaya’s,” Lo stressed.
He was responding to the Director’s remarks on 30 August 2025, when she described the Proclamation of Independence as Malaysia’s official “birth certificate,” highlighting its ornate design and presentation.
“In her enthusiasm, she confused beauty with accuracy,” Lo said. “That Proclamation recorded Malaya’s independence from Britain. It had nothing to do with Sarawak, Sabah, or Singapore, all of which remained under British rule until 1963. To call it Malaysia’s birth certificate is not only inaccurate, it risks erasing history itself.”
Lo stressed that the key dates that define Malaysia’s history: Malaya’s independence on 31 August 1957, Sarawak’s on 22 July 1963, North Borneo’s on 31 August 1963, and Malaysia’s actual formation on 16 September 1963.
“This is why Malaysia’s birthday cannot possibly be 31 August 1957. There was no Malaysia then. To conflate Malaya’s independence with Malaysia’s birth is to erase the distinct identities of Sabah and Sarawak,” he said.
He pointed out that Malaysia was created as a new sovereign entity through constitutional amendments, international recognition, and the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63), which remains a binding treaty registered at the United Nations.
Lo praised Sarawak’s Yang di-Pertua Negeri, Tun Pehin Sri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar, for providing a balanced explanation. “Our TYT correctly stated that 31 August commemorates Malaya’s independence, while 16 September marks Malaysia’s true formation. His approach respects the intelligence of Malaysians, especially Sarawakians and Sabahans.”
However, Lo said the Director’s declaration “diminishes Sarawak and Sabah’s role as founding partners and reduces us to little more than absorbed territories of Malaya.”
He linked this distortion of history to ongoing grievances faced by Sarawak, citing the Petroleum Development Act 1974 and the Territorial Sea Act 2012, both of which, he argued, undermined Sarawak’s rights without its consent.
“When resources were taken, it was done in a flash. Yet when it comes to restoring our rights, Sarawak is told to wait endlessly,” he said. “It is like being told a million dollars belongs to us, but instead of returning it, only one dollar is handed back each year.”
Lo said Malaysia’s true birth certificate is the Malaysia Agreement 1963. Malaysia’s birthday is 16 September 1963. And Malaysia’s real National Day should rightly be 16 September, not 31 August. Let us write this truth in the hearts of our children. Let no Director of National Archives, and no careless word to erase it.
By Connie Chieng