Sarawak independent for 77 days – Masing
by Samuel Aubrey reporters@theborneopost.com. Posted on July 22, 2013, Monday
KUCHING: The fact that Sarawak was once an independent nation was acknowledged by Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) president Tan Sri Dr James Jemut Masing.
According to him, the state was an independent nation for 77 days after shedding the yoke of British colonialism in 1963.
“From 22nd July, 1963 to 16th September, 1963, Sarawak was an independent nation. And then, we joined three other entities – Sabah, Singapore and Malaya to form Malaysia. For 77 days, we were an independent nation while Sukarno and Communist Party in Indonesia were planning to take Sarawak.
“We escaped their grip by forming Malaysia. How fortunate,” he said in his SMS to The Borneo Post yesterday.
Having said that, he wondered why some Sarawakians seemed not to feel fortunate over the formation of Malaysia.
The Sarawak government has decided to re-enact the handing over of administration by the British colonial government to the Sarawak government in a special pantomime to be staged at a ceremony in Kuching Waterfront today.
The pantomime will be staged by more than 60 local actors who play the part of the British governor and the local state officials.
The lowering of the Union Jack and the hoisting of the Sarawak flag will be held on the roof top of the 134-year-old Kuching Square Tower.
Head of State Tun Datuk Patinggi Abang Muhammad Salahuddin and Chief Minister Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud are scheduled to grace the ceremony, which is also to be attended by other cabinet ministers and dignitaries.
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