 The formation of the new federation was planned to occur on 1 June 1963, but was later postponed to 31 August 1963, to coincide with the sixth Hari Merdeka.Several issues related to objections of neighbouring Indonesia and the Philippines to the formation of Malaysia delayed the declaration to 16 September of the same year.The postponement was also done to allow the United Nations team time to conduct fact-finding mission in North Borneo (now Sabah) and Sarawak regarding the two states participation in a new federation.