Malaysians on Malaysia Day

Abdul Kahar Achok, 44

Sabahan of Bugis descent, tuition teacher i do hope the government

will hold the main malaysia day celebration in Sabah in future. When the main celebration is held elsewhere, Sabahans organise their own celebration and have fireworks. in celebrating the occasion, we should put aside our differences and create a harmonious community together. as a Sabahan, i find that it’s easy for me to fit in in peninsular malaysia. However, those who move from here to Sabah will have to learn the local language for daily use, but do not worry, the locals are friendly.

Hakimi Yusmadi Erwandi, 18

Sarawakian, retail salesperson my family moved to Selangor when i was an infant, so i grew up here. my friends would ask me about the word “kitak”, and they were always surprised that the word meant “me” instead of “us” as it does in malay. i would represent malaysia in a heartbeat if i had the chance. regardless of our origins, we are all malaysians and i believe we can all progress together.

Sufiyanie Soffian, 24

Sarawakian, social media executive in the five years of living in Kuala Lumpur, i always get noticed as a

Sarawakian; people are interested in my origins. to me, malaysia day represents me as a malaysian. it is a day of celebrating the richness of cultures that makes malaysia what it is. Sarawak is a developing state but we have big cities too such as Kuching, miri, Sibu and bintulu. to me, this is no longer an era where we get irritated at differences, we should embrace them.

Lawrence Leong Wan Onn, 45

Kuala Lumpur, e-hailing driver

We must accept the differences of all ethnic groups, and over the years our cultures have merged. in my opinion, Sabahans and Sarawakians are down-to-earth and they do not overthink in matters of race. We in peninsular malaysia like to overthink a situation and individuals will get defensive about preserving their own culture. during my childhood, i lived in an apartment and mixed with everyone in the building. it is simple --- we should treat our fellow malaysians as our own family. Harmony means a pleasant musical sound consisting of different notes played or sung together, hence we will only have harmony when we accept our differences.

Divya Shree Richard Gomez, 18

Selangor-born, student personally, i do not think there is much difference between peninsular states and Sabah and Sarawak, other than that there are more ethnic groups in the latter two states. even with multiple ethnicities and religions there, they are more united. tolerance and understanding of one another are necessary to exist together and avoid unnecessary issues. the younger generations should be educated on equality and be provided opportunities equally.