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Monday, August 24, 2015

Penang drops ‘Bersih, Cekap, Amanah’ theme from state-level Merdeka Day celebrations

Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng says the state government will comply with Putrajaya’s theme of ‘Sehati Sejiwa’ for its Merdeka Day celebrations. – The Malaysian Insider pic, August 24, 2015.Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng says the state government will comply with Putrajaya’s theme of ‘Sehati Sejiwa’ for its Merdeka Day celebrations. – The Malaysian Insider pic, August 24, 2015.The Penang government has dropped its own theme for Merdeka Day celebrations and will use Putrajaya's "Sehati Sejiwa" (One Heart, One Soul), Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said today after a verbal spat between the federal government and the DAP-led state over its original choice which included the word "bersih".
Lim in a statement said the decision to follow the national theme came after the Armed Forces announced it would not participate in the state-level parade because of Penang's theme "Bersih, Cekap dan Amanah" (Clean, Efficient, Trustworthy).
Lim said the Armed Forces' participation was significant as a sign of respect and tradition given to the Yang Di Pertua of Penang in celebrating Merdeka Day, which falls on August 31.
"In the spirit of Merdeka and to protect the office of the Yang DiPertua Pulau Pinang as head of state, we reverse the decision to use the theme ‘Clean, efficient, trustworthy’ with a heavy heart.
"We will instead use the national theme announced by the federal government," he said in a statement today.
Lim also expressed regret that the Penang government's original theme had been politicised by Umno ministers whom he said were not helping to promote national unity.
He said the original theme had been appropriate since Malaysia was facing economic and political crises.
"Their attitudes are immature and an abuse of power as a means to deny us our right to celebrate the independence of our country together," he added.
The chief minister said Penang had been using its own theme for Merdeka celebrations without any issues since 2010, adding that the themes chosen were in line with the aspirations and hopes of the state.
The state education department and Armed Forces had participated in previous Merdeka parades at state level under these themes which differed from the federal government's, he added.
He said these past experiences had led the state government to again propose its own theme this year, and noted that this was not the first time the word "bersih" had been used in the state's national day celebrations.
The current controversy over Penang's Merdeka Day theme arose after it was revealed that the state education department had instructed schools not to participate in the parade because of the theme which contained the word "bersih".
The Armed Forces then announced it would also not join in the parade.
This comes as civil society and opposition parties prepare for the Bersih 4 rally this weekend in Kuala Lumpur, Kuching and Kota Kinabalu, to press the government for reforms.
- TMI

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