LETTERS: The year 2020 is very special for our country Malaysia. The numbers 57 and 63 are also meaningful for Malaysia. Why is that so?
For that, we have to go back "63" years ago to 31st August 1957 when Malaya achieved her independence from Britain.
We did it through diplomacy. The strong shouts of "Merdeka" seven times by our first prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman reverberated in the newly built Stadium Merdeka. We even had a new stadium specially built to usher in our new nation.
Tunku Abdul Rahman, through his leadership and diplomatic skills managed to repeat his feat by getting Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak come together to form a new country called Malaysia on 16 September 1963.
Tunku knew the mind of the British and he also knew how to negotiate with them. With that, we have a new nation, Malaysia, which is bigger in terms of population and land area. It straddles the strategic South China Seas.
The formation of Malaysia is unique, it came so soon after the birth of Malaya. Tunku had the distinction of being the first prime minister of Malaya and later the first prime minister of Malaysia.
This year 2020 is the 57th anniversary of Malaysia (consisting of Malaya, Sabah and Sarawak, Singapore left in 1965 to become an independent country). So we see the numbers 57 and 63 keep coming up.
The old Malaya achieved independence in 1957, some 63 years ago and the new Malaysia achieved independence in 1963, some 57 years ago. 2020 is indeed special on this count.
On the occasion of impending Malaysia Day we wish our beloved nation continued peace, progress and prosperity.
DR KOH AIK KHOON
Subang Jaya, Selangor
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times