KUALA LUMPUR – Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor has confirmed that the state will “go along” with the National Day theme and logo proposed by the federal government.
With Kedah being the final state governed by Perikatan Nasional (PN) to follow the unity government’s theme, this means that PN Youth chief Ahmad Fadhli Shaari’s proposal for the PN-led states to have their own separate theme has been roundly shot down.
Stressing that the decision does not mean that the state is “in agreement” with the federal unity government led by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Sanusi said national patriotism should be prioritised over political differences.
“There is no issue, Kedah will adopt the same National Day theme and logo as the federal government. It’s a national-level celebration, as a state we’ll just follow along.
“Why should we incite arguments (on the matter)? This doesn’t mean that we agree with the Madani government (as) our heart is like us (PN),” he said during a press conference after the state’s first executive councillor’s meeting post-elections today.
“It’s not that we want to follow PH (Pakatan Harapan), but since it has already been set as the National Day slogan, we’ll just follow them.”
Earlier today, Kelantan Deputy Menteri Besar Datuk Mohamed Fadzli Hassan announced that the state will adopt the federal government’s Merdeka celebrations theme ‘Malaysia Madani: Tekad Perpaduan, Penuhi Harapan’ (Determination in Unity, Fulfilling Hope)’, while tagging on a ‘Membangun Bersama Islam’ (Progress with Islam) theme.
This came after Terengganu Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar confirmed that the state will use the federal government’s National Day logo and theme.
Similarly, Perlis Menteri Besar Mohd Shukri Ramli had previously said the state would use the Malaysia Madani theme, but not the logo.
Fadhli’s proposal for PN states to use a different National Day logo and theme was met by criticisms from various quarters, with netizens lambasting the Pasir Mas MP for the “rude” and potentially disruptive move.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had also said that matters concerning patriotism, such as the National Day logo and theme, should not be politicised.
Besides drawing flak from unity government leaders, Fadhli’s suggestion has also been criticised by Bersatu deputy president Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu and PAS deputy president Datuk Seri Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man.
Both leaders told Scoop the proposal was never discussed at the coalition nor party level and was instead Fadhli’s “personal view”.
Meanwhile, Sanusi announced that the state government has allocated a special RM400 aid for civil servants in the state, with the initiative involving about RM2.08 million.
The payment will be made to approximately 5,600 civil workers on September 14, he added. – August 23, 2023