United Malays National Organisation
The Philippines and Indonesia strenuously objected to this development, with Indonesia claiming Malaysia represented a form of neocolonialism and the Philippines claiming Sabah as its territory. The United Nations sent a commission to the region which approved the merger after having delayed the date of Malaysia's formation to investigate. Despite further protests from the Indonesian President, Sukarno, the formation of Malaysia was proclaimed on 16 September 1963. Indonesia then declared a "confrontation" with Malaysia, sending commandos to perform guerilla attacks in East Malaysia (Sabah and Sarawak). The confrontation was ended when a military coup replaced Sukarno with Suharto. The Philippines, which had withdrawn diplomatic recognition from Malaysia, also recognised Malaysia around the same time.
Malaysia Day
Prior to 2010, Malaysia Day was observed as a state public holiday in Sabah and Sarawak. Since 2010, Malaysia Day has been a nationwide public holiday. Prime Minister Najib Razak made the decision after a question-and-answer session at Parliament on 19 October 2009, giving Malaysians two celebrations related to the country's independence. In conjunction with the day celebration in 2018 under the new Pakatan Harapan (PH) government, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has promised to restore Sabah and Sarawak status in the Malaysian federation in accordance with the Malaysia Agreement, changing "their status from merely a state to an equal partner of the Malayan states".