KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 23 — Lim Guan Eng lashed out at Putrajaya today for prohibiting Penang students from participating in the state’s Merdeka celebration due to the inclusion of “Bersih” in the event slogan, asking if the word was now deemed dirty, illegal and obscene.

The Penang chief minister accused the federal government of bullying his administration and pointed out that since 2010, the state has been allowed to coin its own theme for the annual independence day celebration.

"Why was no ban imposed since 2010 but only now? This is politically motivated to sabotage Penang state government’s Merdeka celebrations.

“Clearly, the Education Ministry is trying to link the word Bersih with the peaceful protests organised on 29-30 August to protest against corruption and the RM2.6 billion deposited in the prime minister’s personal account,” he said, referring to Bersih 2.0’s planned overnight rally this month-end.

“This is an immature act of petty politics merely because the word ‘Bersih’ in BCA is used. Is ‘Bersih’ now a dirty, vulgar and obscene word that must also be declared illegal?” he asked.

BCA refers to the “Bersih, Cekap, Amanah” theme that Penang has adopted for this year’s Merdeka celebration.

Earlier this week, it was reported that all schools in Penang have been directed not to participate in Merdeka Day celebrations in Penang without the Education Ministry’s approval, owing to the state government’s selection of “Bersih” as this year’s theme.

The directive was contained in a circular sent to all headmasters in the state and signed by Penang state education director Datuk Osman Hussain.

The circular added that an earlier letter dated July 24 was now rescinded, although the contents of the earlier notice are not immediately known and the reason for the prohibition was also not contained in the letter.

The theme Putrajaya selected for this year’s celebrations is #SehatiSejiwa (One heart, one soul).

The Education Ministry has since said that it is reviewing its directive, following Lim’s statement that the selected theme for the state-level celebration is “Bersih, Cekap, Amanah” and not merely “Bersih”.

Lim said today that the ban was in the first place illogical.

He said the BCA theme had originated from former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad when the latter first took office in 1981.

“BCA is even widely used in government letterheads as a reminder to be clean and not be corrupt,” he pointed out.

“The Federal government is unreasonable and bullying the Penang state government because of the Bersih rallies,” he added.