Abd Karim has no qualms about S’wakians celebrating National Day
KUCHING: Sarawakians should not be too parochial in not wanting to celebrate National Day, which falls on August 31, says Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth and Sports Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah.
Personally, he feels that people of Sarawak should look beyond and celebrate the day, he added.
“But on the other hand, there is nothing wrong for us to also celebrate Sarawak Independence Day (July 22), Malaysia Day ( Sept 16) and National Day (August 31).
“It is just a date, and what is more important at the end of the day, after we gained independence, what will happen to us, whether we are truly independent from poverty, economic problem and others. Because if you are independent, you must be seen as independent in many ways.
“Whether we are really, really independent, to decide things on our own, our country is governed properly, good governance, not much corruptions...that’s what we want, a multiracial and harmonious country,” Abdul Karim said at a media conference after meeting representatives from the Journalists Association of Kuching Division and officials from Petronas Sarawak Region at his office here yesterday.
He recalled that when USA gained independence on July 4, 1776, it had only eight states but through the years the number of states grew to 52.
He said some of these states used to celebrate independence on different dates but for the sake of unity the US government decided on a common date to symbolise their independence.
Nevertheless, Abdul Karim, who is also the vice president for Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu ( PBB), did not blame Sarawakians for being ‘cold’ towards August 31.
“Because lately there have been too much of debate and that debate distanced us from West Malaysia and Sabah because of impending current issues such as Petronas, oil and gas, MA1963 and others, which the federal leaders should understand and should have looked into.
“When it comes to development, we are always being sidelined. Take for example, many of our students go to Semenanjung to study, that includes me. When you study there, you see the vast development and changes, but when you go back to your kampung, no water, no electricity...how do you feel? We have feelings too,” he asserted.
With more Sarawakians attending higher education, he believes that if Sarawak continues to be sidelined, the people will be making a lot of noise.
“But if everything is good, what you see in Semenanjung and compare to what we have for many years, of course, people will not be happy. When you are not happy, you just need a few politicians to rub salt to the wound, especially now when there is social media,” he said.