WITH the history rewritten and August 31 no longer a significant date in Sarawak, the Borneo state marked the 2023 National Day in a low-key ceremony at an all-community luncheon in the central coastal town of Mukah.

Sarawak Premier Abang Johari Openg, in summing up the state of the federation in his address, said all is not well in the country.

In apparent reference to the recently concluded six-state elections in the peninsula, he said the nation has not been able to concentrate on its post Covid-19 recovery because “there were desperate leaders who did not hesitate to exploit race and religious issues solely for political gains”.

“It’s causing division in our multi-ethnic society and certainly isn’t conducive to the country, especially when it and the world is grappling with various issues, particularly the Covid-19 pandemic, wars and global climate change,” he said.

Abang Johari also warned the people of Sarawak not to become complacent or quarrel among themselves over religious, ethnic and regional differences.

“If we continually engage in disputes like that then our energy and mind would only be focused on trying to defeat our opponents.”

The premier also said after 66 years, the meaning of freedom and independence is still not fully realised.

He said while there is still room to fully realise the meaning of them, it could not be denied that the nation, and Sarawak as part of Malaysia, has achieved significant progress, if compared to other countries in the region.

“The country has successfully diversified its economy from an agricultural and commodity-based one to an economy driven by manufacturing and services to become a major exporter of electrical and electronic goods.

“The country’s economic growth has averaged around 5.4% since 2010, according to World Bank’s reports, and it is expected to transition from an upper middle-income economy to a high-income economy by around 2024.”

Abang Johari, who said Malaya’s independence on this day in 1957 is as significant as Sarawak’s independence on July 22, 1963, called on all Malaysians on the occasion of this year’s National Day celebration to strive to understand that the interests of the nation outweigh all other interests.

“The nation requires a strong government to shoulder the responsibility of planning a clear economic direction towards making Malaysia a high-income country, so that independence truly holds meaning for us.” – August 31, 2023.