PETALING JAYA, Aug 23 — Penang’s decision to use “Bersih, Cekap, Amanah” as its Merdeka Day theme as opposed to the federal slogan of ‘Sehati Sejiwa’ resulted in the state education department barring all schools from taking part in the celebrations and parade.
Malay Mail spoke to members of the public, who derided the department’s move as they felt it was unfair to punish the students.
Shauqie Aziz, 25, swimming instructor
“I pity the students who must have been practicing. Negotiations could have been done rather than ban schools from taking part in the celebrations. (Penang Chief Minister Lim) Guan Eng has his own reasons for choosing the theme. It is to instil the message which is ‘Clean, Fair and Trustworthy’. The ban is probably to make sure children are not aware of our political situation.”
Nurul Amida Abdul Hamid, 48, homemaker
“The theme is ‘Sehati Sejiwa’ so we should be united as one. The theme will be unsuccessful if the people are not united. As for the word ‘Bersih’, I believe the word has been misunderstood. The rally itself is not a bad thing as it is a platform for people to voice their feelings.”
S. Lilian, 23, student
“We need to remember our ancestors worked hard to maintain unity. Let’s not destroy it. The theme ‘Sehati Sejiwa’ should be appreciated. Penang should have not used the theme ‘Bersih’ for their Merdeka celebration.”
Ang Shi Pei, 21, student
“There is nothing wrong with the word ‘Bersih’ in the Penang Merdeka theme. The government should not have banned schools from participating in the celebration. What do the children know anyway? They just want to have fun. I urge the education department not to be too sensitive and politicise the theme.”
Romy Loh, 42, sales representative
“The education department has overreacted. There should be no problem because we are all Malaysians and what is important is the patriotism spirit. This year’s Merdeka celebration is not as interesting as before.”
R. Vigneswaran, 45, taxi driver
“There should not be a problem to have other themes in states as they have their own thoughts and ideas. The federal theme is just a theme. Prohibiting schools from joining the Merdeka day celebration is unfair to the kids. The word ‘Bersih’ is sensationalised with negative impression.”
Nurul Afikah, 19, beautician
“The theme “Sehati Sejiwa” is chosen by our Prime MInister because we as Malaysians should be united no matter what.
We should be greatful that we are born here and as Malaysians, we should join hands and be united. Penang should follow the theme set by the federal government to show the unity among Malaysians.”
Fahmi Yaakob, 27, technician
“We need to have patriotism and from the current situation, people are less patriotic. I feel sorry for the students who could not participate in the Merdeka parade. As for the word ‘Bersih’, I believe the word has been tainted with a negative impression and the word itself is associated with the Bersih rally.”
Hazizi Mohd Radzi, 38, head of security
“The state should have followed the theme set by the federal government as we are one nation. We should be united as one. I feel sorry for the kids but I personally feel the word “Bersih” has been over sensationalised and every time the word is out, people will think about the rally.”
