GEORGE TOWN: Penang has relented on the Merdeka Day theme, opting to adopt the Federal Government’s slogan following the armed forces’ move not to take part in the state parade.
The state would use the Federal Government’s Sehati, Sejiwa (One Heart, One Soul) theme instead of Bersih, Cekap, Amanah (Clean, Efficient and Trustworthy) which it announced earlier, said Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng.
“It is with a heavy heart that we are withdrawing the state theme. We hope there will be no more problem for federal agencies to take part in the state-level parade,” he told reporters yesterday.
On Sunday, the armed forces said it would not take part in the parade in Penang, citing that the theme Sehati, Sejiwa must be supported by all.
Lim said armed forces’ personnel would salute the Yang di-Pertua Negri as he symbolised the sovereignty of the Federal Constitution.
“The armed forces’ move to withdraw from the celebration in order to abide by the decision of the Federal Government has made the state reconsider this.
“We decided to review the decision as the Yang di-Pertua Negri is a symbol of the Government and he must be given due respect,” he said.
Lim said the state-level celebration had been using a different theme since 2010 without any problem.
“We are very disappointed that this had to happen,” he said.
Yesterday, armed forces public relations division head Lt-Kol Bakhtiar Nor Md Alias said in a statement that it was glad over Penang’s latest announcement and would now take part in the parade for the spirit and joy of Merdeka.
Penang Education director Datuk Osman Hussain, said he, too, was glad that the state had adopted the national slogan.
“Our earlier decision had nothing to do with politics. We were only concerned for the schoolchildren and wanted to maintain national unity.”
On Wednesday, the Penang Education Department issued a directive barring schools in the state from joining the celebrations due to the different themes.
Penang MCA chairman Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun praised Penang for upholding the spirit of Malaysia’s independence.
“This is happy news. Every Malaysian should share the same theme, whether or not we support the political parties,” she said.
Penang Barisan Nasional chairman Teng Chang Yeow also welcomed the move but said the state should apologise for creating a divisive society.
No comments:
Post a Comment