By Rachel Mina
KUCHING: All states in Malaysia should take turns hosting Malaysia Day celebration, said political analyst Dr Ammar Redza Ahmad Rizal.
“Also, I believe that Sarawak and Sabah also need to embrace the first National Day celebration on Aug 31 and volunteer to host the National Day parade. It’s always the nation and its people first,” added the Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) Faculty of Language and Communication academic Professor.
He said this, in response to various commentators’ views on the uprising issue of Malaysia Day being celebrated only in Sabah and Sarawak.
Saying that unity among Malaysians is crucial, he urged all Malaysians to see both dates as significant, and that West Malaysians should recognise the significance of Sabah and Sarawak in Malaysia.
He then proposed rotating the celebrations of National Day and Malaysia Day throughout Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah, and Sarawak.
“Perhaps the National Day celebration can be hosted here in Kuching next year, while the Malaysia Day event can be held in Kuala Lumpur, specifically at Stadium Merdeka. Furthermore, historically, Malaysia’s declaration was solemnised in Stadium Merdeka.
“I remember back in August when Bonnie won the first gold medal for Malaysian Paralympic team, joy was in everyone heart regardless their religion, races and geolocation. That’s the beauty of being in a federation. The ‘esprit de corps’ between each member of this nation go beyond racial and location identity. Everyone is a Malaysian first,” he said.
Following that, he urged that the education regarding Malaysia’s federation and history to be aggressively promoted. Amongst the platforms is through social media such as Twitter and YouTube.
“I can personally recommend National Film Development Corporation Malaysia (Finas) YouTube channel. There is abundance of historical video that has been remastered which we can enjoy while learning,” he said.
