When the Prime Minister of
the Federation of Malaya Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-haj proposed the formation
of Malaysia, he couldn’t have chosen a better occasion to relay his idea.
The casual suggestion was made in his luncheon talk to the Foreign Correspondents Club in Singapore on 27 May 1961.
He had said: “Malaya
today as a nation realises that she cannot stand alone and in isolation. Sooner
or later she should have an understanding with the British and the peoples of
the territories of Singapore, North Borneo, Brunei and Sarawak. It is premature
for me to say how this closer understanding can be brought about but it is
inevitable that we should look ahead to this objective and think of a plan
whereby these territories can be brought closer together in political and
economic cooperation …”
The idea went viral and was well received by the British Government which then invited the "Father of Independence" to visit London in November 1961 for discussions regarding the matter.
These facts are contained in
the information pamphlet of the first-day cover
issued with a set of three postage stamps to commemorate the birth of Malaysia
on 16 September 1963.
The common design of the stamps show a
fourteen pointed star with radiating rays shining on the territories of
Malaysia. The 10-sen stamp had its background in violet, the 12-sen in green
and 50-sen in dark, red-brown.
“The creation of Malaysia
will in effect mean realisation of the hopes of million of people in the
component states of Malaysia for a stable and peace loving nation, firmly
believing in parliamentary democracy and at the same time ensuring to them a
richer and fuller way of life. Malaysia will take its place amongst the comity
of free nations dedicated to the cause of international co-operation and
understanding and subscribing to the
international effort to eliminate ignorance, poverty, strife and hunger which are
the inherent enemies of mankind,” added the pamphlet.
The first-day cover with the
set of three-stamps is ‘historic’ itself. It has ‘SINGAPORE’ post-mark, indicating that it was bought
there when Singapore was part of
Malaysia.
On this Golden Jubilee
celebration of Malaysia Day, Pos
Malaysia has issued a commemorative stamp depicting ‘Bapa Kemerdekaan”, Jalur Gemilang and the outline of Malaysia.
The media continues to play
its role as a unifying element to bring Malaysians together .
Live television coverage of
the celebrations – morning in Kuching and
night in Kota Kinabalu have enabled Malaysians all over the country to witness the jubilation.
Communications and
Multimedia Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Shabery Cheek said a permanent secretariat
for Malaysia Day celebrations would be set-up soon by the ministry.
The secretariat would, among
others, gather views from any one on events
and programmes that could be held for the celebrations.
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