“Merdeka! Merdeka! Merdeka!” - Tunku Abdul Rahman, 31/8/57 and 16/9/63.

Malaya, not Malaysia, got its independence from the imperial British on the prosperous day of 31st August 1957. But now we are Malaysia, together with Sabah and Sarawak, and our country’s independence day is September 16th 1963.

Malaysia’s only 45 years old, although Malaya’s already 51. Ignorance of the East Malaysians is somewhat disgraceful. Together, we are Malaysia. Even Tunku Abdul Rahman yelled MERDEKA seven times after Sabah and Sarawak joined Malaysia, in Stadium Merdeka.

It was a more glorious day than 31st August 1957. The works of our dedicated politicians freeing the states of Sabah, Sarawak; and even Brunei and Singapore. It was only 45 years ago the British left our lands. Malaysian land.

At present, opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim is extremely confident he can create history by Sept 16 2008. He believes he can topple the ruling government, thus marking the 45th anniversary of Malaysia’s independence day. What a day it would be.

According to Malaysiakini, opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim’s bid to seize power will fail, Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi said, while promising to thwart attempts to overthrow his government.

What would the outcome be? Is it worth all the enthusiasm?