Communication and Multimedia Minister Salleh Said Keruak has called on Malaysians to set aside their political differences and celebrate Merdeka.
"Malaysians claim they are loyal Malaysians but we seem to have lost the spirit of nationalism.
"In sports we seem to have discarded ethnicity in favour of nationalism and seem to be able to uphold the Malaysian spirit. And that used to be the same for Merdeka Day as well.
"We were able to come together as Malaysians and not be divided by separate celebrations according to race, religion or political leanings.
"But sadly that now seems to have changed," he said in a blog posting.
Salleh asked if Malaysians would be able to set aside the political divide and come together as citizens of this nation for one day.
"The impression being given is that there are going to be two Merdeka celebrations, one for those opposed to the government.
"Merdeka Day is not about whether you support the government or the opposition. It is about your love for your country.
"We should be marching together, united as Malaysians, although we may be of different races, religions and political leanings," he said.
Salled said while political disagreements are fine, it should end there and not be taken to the point of creating two Malaysians.
"We say we are Malaysians. We say we are loyal to our country. We say we are prepared to sacrifice for our nation.
"But we are not prepared to sacrifice our political differences for just one day to come together united as Malaysians.
"Can we not restore Merdeka Day to what it used to be and not use that celebration as the platform for politics?
"Merdeka is about love, love for our country, not about hate for each other because we do not share the same political ideals," he added.
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