The Education Ministry has barred all schools in Penang from participating in state-level Merdeka celebrations this year, in a rebuke of the DAP-led Penang state government’s choice of Merdeka slogan: “Bersih, Cekap dan Amanah” (“Clean, Efficient and Trustworthy”).
Deputy Education Minister P Kamalanathan said today that his ministry is of the view that Penang’s Merdeka slogan is harmful to national interests, as it included the word “Bersih”, which harkens to the increasingly popular #BERSIH4 rally organised by electoral reform movement Bersih 2.0.
“The State Education Department was advised by the MKN to instruct schools from participating in the Merdeka Day celebration in Pulau Penang if the state government insists on using ‘BERSIH’ as the theme as it clearly contravenes the country’s interest,” he told Syed Jaymal Zahiid of The Malay Mail Online, referring to the Majlis Keselamatan Negara, or National Security Council.
The directive was contained in a circular sent to all headmasters in the state and signed by Penang state education director Datuk Osman Hussain.
Kamalanathan added that the ban on school participation in Penang’s Merdeka festivities will be in effect until the state government toes the federal line and adopts Putrajaya’s theme for Merdeka this year, which is #SehatiSejiwa.
#BERSIH4, which is due to be held on August 29 and 30 in KL, Kuching, and Kota Kinabalu, is calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Najib Razak due to his involvement in numerous scandals surrounding sovereign fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad. The mass gathering also calls for the clean and fair elections, the strengthening of Malaysia’s parliamentary democracy, honouring the right to dissent, and to rescue the country’s economy.
