COMMENT | July 22 was barely two weeks ago. It was an auspicious day for Sarawakians. It’s Sarawak Day, or rather, independence day for this former British colony.

On this day, for many Sarawakians including me, we remind ourselves that Sarawak is our beloved homeland. It is the only home that we have and the only land we can call our own.

We will happily and proudly call ourselves patriotic Sarawakians. It was on Sarawak soil that we were born and it is where we intend to die and be interned when that hour dawns. I believe I speak for many of my fellow Sarawakians on this.

For Sarawakians, July 22, 1963, was the day their hornbill state gained independence from Britain. Even the state government has recognised July 22 as independence day for Sarawak.

Why, it has to take decades for Sarawak leaders, past and present, to pick up the courage to declare July 22 as the true independence day for Sarawak.

Why are we, Sarawakians, so subservient to Malaya and for so long that we didn’t even dare to tell the truth but had to hide a significant historical fact as our real independence day? Thankfully, things are different now.

Hari Kebangsaan, Aug 31, holds little meaning now for Sarawak and Sabah. It is a day for Malayans to celebrate their independence day. Of course, Sarawakians and Sabahans can rejoice with Malayans on their National Day, but Aug 31 has no significance for those in the Borneo territories...