KOTA KINABALU: Sabah will be celebrating Sabah Day and National Day on Aug 31 this year.
Finance Ministry Permanent Secretary Datuk Mohd Sofian Alfian Nair said the concurrent celebration is aligned with the state government gazette issued on June 20, which declared Sabah Day to be celebrated on Aug 31.
"Last month, we received the official gazette for Sabah Day, which is why we have renamed the celebration to the Sabah State Level National Day Sabah Day Celebration 2024.
"Last year, it wasn't officially gazetted; it was just a starting point to see the response to the celebration.
"But now, the cabinet has decided to gazette Sabah Day because it's important for us to remember our own state's independence.
"Therefore, the cabinet decided to combine the celebrations of National Day and Sabah Day," he said in a statement after paying a courtesy visit to Yang di-Pertua Negeri Tun Juhar Mahiruddin at Istana Seri Kinabalu here yesterday.
Mohd Sofian, who is also the organising committee chairman, added that over 10,000 people are expected to attend the National Day Sabah Day Celebration 2024 in the morning, followed by an estimated 15,000 attendees for the Sabah Day concert in the evening at Padang Merdeka.