COMMENT | Peninsular Malaysia gained independence from the British at Merdeka on Aug 31, 1957, but the irony is that it became the new colonisers of Sabah and Sarawak six years later.

It would be interesting to know how the East Malaysians feel about Malaysia Day. Is it a day of celebration or commiseration? If they could turn the clock back, would East Malaysians have agreed to the formation of Malaysia?

How many young Malaysians knew about “Project IC” (or Project M - M for Mahathir) when the demography of Sabah was changed because then prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad wanted his party to triumph in the general elections? Illegal migrants from the Philippines and Indonesia were given blue identity cards and the right to vote.

Fifty-nine years after the formation of Malaysia, both Sabah and Sarawak still lag behind in just about every area of development. Although Sabah and Sarawak are major oil and gas producers and are rich in natural resources, the people of Sabah are the poorest in Malaysia, Sarawak is the third poorest (Kelantan is the second poorest).

There is rising discontent among both...