20 Points never disturbed
Malaysians themselves do not understand Malaysia, said Community Development and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Jainab Ahmad Ayid.
KOTA KINABALU: Malaysians themselves do not understand Malaysia, said Community Development and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Jainab Ahmad Ayid.
“Malaysia should be an example to other countries but sadly, Malaysians do not understand about Malaysia and they fight with each other because they do not understand why Malaysia was established and why Sabah and Sarawak joined Malaysia.
“It is as if being a part of Malaysia excludes our rights. We, Sabah and Sarawak have a special position in Malaysia and we indeed have the 20 Points and they have never been disturbed.
“Moreover, having many Sabahans who hold higher positions not only in Sabah but also in the peninsular, has also never been disturbed,” she said during her visit to the Sabah Women and Children Hospital Likas on Malaysia Day.
Jainab also said one of the problems in Sabah was that there were a lot of polemics where people wondered why Hari Malaysia was not being celebrated.
She said the people should be thankful that Malaysia Day was now being celebrated and she hoped the people, regardless of their race, religion or culture would appreciate Independence Day on August 31 and Malaysia Day on September 16.
She said it was time for the people not to be too colloquial by saying ‘Sabah for Sabahans’ as Sabah is a part of Malaysia and it should be valued.
“We declared that Malaysia Day was to be celebrated in Sarawak last year, while this year in Sabah to show that we celebrated it together.
“Malaysia was established 54 years ago which initially consisted of the peninsular, Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore but Singapore eventually left. Thus, the remaining states should be appreciated,” she said.
Meanwhile, Sabah Women and Children Hospital Likas director Dr Tan Bee Hwai said there were 16 babies (11 girls and five boys) born at the hospital as of 1.30pm yesterday and about seven mothers were still waiting in the labour rooms to deliver.
“Today we bring some gifts from the sponsors such as Giant Hypermarket, Aryssa and the ministry for the mothers who deliver on Malaysia Day and the Fire and Rescue team is also with us to cheer up the children in the hospital.
“We wanted the children to feel the happiness of celebrating Malaysia Day just like us and there is also a fire truck outside the hospital so that the children get to see them here,” said Jainab.
In giving her condolences to the 23 students who died in the recent fire at Pusat Tahfiz Darul Quran Ittifaqiyah in Kuala Lumpur, she reminded parents to pay attention to the safety of their children and not to focus only on their academics.
She also said every building must abide by the rules and such institutions should be registered.
In the meantime, the first Malaysia Day baby was delivered at 12.10 am by a 28-year-old mother, Jennyfer Joseph.
She said she did not expect her baby boy to be delivered on this special day and was very happy to have her healthy baby weighing 3.83 kg as the new member of the family, and her third child.
Jennyfer, who is a kindergarten teacher, was seen accompanied by her husband, Freddy Pamaas, 36, in the ward yesterday.