Malaysia Day is a day held on 16 September every year to commemorate the establishment of the Malaysian federation in 1963. This event saw Malaya, North Borneo (which was renamed Sabah), Sarawak, and Singapore join together as a country. Singapore, however, withdrew from the federation less than two years later, on 9 August 1965.
Initially, the planned date for the formation of the new federation was 1 June 1963, but the event was postponed to 31 August 1963, to coincide with the sixth anniversary of Merdeka celebrations. Several issues relating to the objections of neighbouring Indonesia and the Philippines to the formation of Malaysia delayed the declaration to 16 September of the same year.
The formation of Malaysia was done under the basis of the Malaysia Agreement, signed in 1963 by the United Kingdom, the Federation of Malaya, Sarawak, North Borneo, and Singapore. This Agreement set out the terms and conditions for the component States to be federated under a new constitution.
The “Malaysia Bill” was introduced in the Malayan Parliament on 9 July 1963, and received consent from the third Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Tuanku Syed Putra Jamalulllail on 29 August 1963.
Prior to 2010, Malaysia Day was observed as a state public holiday only in Sabah and Sarawak, but an unofficial patriotic day of observance marked nationally and only the anniversary of the nation’s formation.
Prime Minister Najib Razak made the decision after a question-and-answer session at Parliament on 19 October 2009, giving Malaysians two celebrations related to the country’s independence and sovereignty. Beginning the year 2010, Malaysia Day became a nationwide public holiday.
