KUCHING: The Sarawak Day celebration will finally be held in its physical form at the Sibu Indoor Stadium on July 22 (Friday), after a hiatus of two years, no thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Sarawak Independence Day or Sarawak Day has become one of the major celebrations in the state since 2016 – after the late Tan Sri Adenan Satem had declared July 22 as a state public holiday.
The former chief minister said this was to recognise and acknowledge the sacrifice and contributions of Sarawakians who had fought for the state’s independence from the British.
On July 22, 1963, the Sarawak flag was hoisted at the Kuching Waterfront as the state was granted independence from Britain.
The last British colonial governor, Sir Alexander Waddell, boarded a white sampan from the Astana and crossed Sungai Sarawak to hand over the administration to the people.
Tan Sri Stephen Kalong Ningkan was appointed the first chief minister, marking the beginning of Sarawak as a sovereign state.
Sarawak was self-governed for a short period of time before entering into the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) on Sept 16 that year, which formed the Federation of Malaysia with Sabah, Malaya and Singapore.
Apart from that, Adenan had initiated negotiations with the Federal Government to restore the state’s rights under MA63 as certain terms and conditions, which gave the state autonomous rights to several aspects of the constitution – had been eroded over the years.
Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg has continued Sarawak’s struggles and efforts to regain its rights under the agreement for the interests of the state and its people.
This year, the Sarawak Day celebration will be held in its physical form at the Sibu Indoor Stadium with Yang di-Pertua Negeri Tun Pehin Sri Abdul Taib and wife Toh Puan Datuk Patinggi Raghad Kurdi Taib scheduled to officiate at the event.
According to the Welfare, Community Well-being, Women, Family and Childhood Development Minister Datuk Seri Fatimah Abdullah, the celebration will also be aired via livestream due to the limited capacity of the stadium, which can only accommodate about 1,000 people.
The celebration will feature the screening of a special video titled ‘Sarawak Makmur’ or ‘Prosperous Sarawak’, bringing the audience to the beginnings and the struggles before the birth of Sarawak, with the title resonating with the theme for this year’s celebration.
Among the performances for the day include a special musical theater, Prodigy Orchestra, Tuku Kame, ‘Thousand Hand, Thousand Hope’ dance performance and the rendition of ‘Sarawak Day 2022’ song performance.
The public can also watch the celebration live on TVS at Astro 122 and MyTV, as well as on the Sarawak Public Communications Unit (Ukas) Facebook page and YouTube channel or on the big screen at Dataran Tuanku Haji Bujang Sibu.
