The Penang government will adopt Putrajaya's theme for the state's Merdeka Day parade and drop its own "Bersih, Cekap dan Amanah" theme.

This follows the decision by the Education Ministry and the Armed Forces to abstain from the parade because of Penang coming up with its own theme.

Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said that this was done in the spirit of Merdeka Day and also to uphold the state Governor's dignity.

The decision to use the national theme instead was decided at the state executive council today.

At a press conference in Komtar, Lim said the Armed Forces' respect to the Governor during the annual Merdeka celebration is a traditional duty.

"We take note of the current development which involves the issue of participation of several federal agencies in this year's state level Merdeka celebrations.

"The announcement of the Armed Forces' decision not to participate in the parade is very disappointing," he read from his statement.

"Their participation is a tradition which is very important for the celebration," he added.

Facing economic and political crisis

Lim said at a time when the country is facing an economic and political crisis, Penang's theme 'Bersih, Cekap dan Amanah, should not become the source of conflict nor should it be politicised by BN, the Education Minister Mahdzir Khalid and Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein ( photo ).

They have become the obstacle to a celebration that promotes unity and patriotism among the people, he added.

Lim said the federal ministers were "immature" in their views.

"They have abused their power to deny our rights to celebrate Merdeka together in this country," he added.

Lim reminded that Penang has been using different Merdeka themes since 2010 without any problems from the federal government.

Despite the different themes, the Armed Forces and education department have been participating in the do without a hitch, he said.

Based on this practice, the state government has proposed the theme “Bersih, Cekap dan Amanah”, Lim added.

"The state government felt the theme is appropriate with our desire to create a clean state in terms of the environment, our administration and most importantly, a trustworthy government.

"This is also not the first time the state government has used the term 'bersih' in our Merdeka themes.

"We hope that with the change of theme, there will be no more problems for the federal agencies to participate in this year's celebration," he stressed.

Should use same theme as federal

Meanwhile, Penang Federal Action Council chairman Zainal Abidin Osman said all the government-linked companies were told not to attend this year's state level Merdeka celebrations if the theme had remained "Bersih".

"If only Lim had a big heart and used the same theme as the federal's, such problem would not have happened," the state Umno chief said in a statement.

Zainal ( photo ) added that it is unfortunate for Penangites to have a chief minister who practises cheap street politics although he has administered the state for nearly eight years.

"Is it too difficult for Lim to be 'sehati, sejiwa' (one heart and soul) with the other 30 million Malaysians to celebrate Merdeka?" he asked.

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