Alternative logo, song to be unveiled Thursday

Pakatan is rejecting the National Day theme song and logo set by the ruling government and will reveal their own version later this week.

PETALING JAYA: Pakatan Rakyat today announced that their alternative Merdeka logo and song will be revealed on Thursday, in what can be seen as a bid to highlight the opposition pact’s particular brand of governance.

“We have accepted the suggestions for the logo and have chosen one that we feel is most appropriate,” PAS secretary-general Mustafa Ali told a press conference after chairing Pakatan’s secretariat meeting here.

“The song is still in the process [of being chosen]. We are still accepting suggestions. The song we currently have has been suggested by a famous composer,” he said.

The official National Day theme song chosen by the ruling government, “Janji Ditepati” courted controversy after it was claimed that the melody was similar to an Indonesian gospel song.

In response to the allegations, its lyricist, Information, Culture and Communications Minister Rais Yatim, announced on Twitter that a panel would be formed to investigate the song’s originality.

Meanwhile, Rais also withdrew the official logo for Merdeka Day after netizens and graphic designers widely panned it for being the worst they had ever seen.

“To quell some misunderstanding we only have 1Malaysia as the logo for Merdeka and Hari M’sia. There will be several promo highlights till the big day,” he said on Twitter.

Pakatan had also previously rejected the official Merdeka theme of “Janji Ditepati” (Promises Fulfilled), accusing the Barisan Nasional government of hijacking the celebration for its own political campaign.

In its place, they put forth “Sebangsa, Senegara, Sejiwa” (One Nation, One Country, One Soul), a theme that was picked after a committee of five sifted through 250 suggestions from the public.

Pakatan also revealed that Kelantan would be using the Pakatan theme for its Merdeka Day celebration.

Pakatan wants advanced movie screening

On another issue, Pakatan leaders also demanded the government to allow opposition members to view in advance the film “Tanda Putera”, which depicted the May 13, 1969 racial riots.

The government-backed film had sparked off fears that it could stir racial tensions in the country.

“We are very concerned about Tanda Putera, which is slated for release on Sept 13.

“We already have an idea of what the film will show, and we feel that the film’s contents do not depict Malaysia’s true efforts in uniting the rakyat,” said Mustafa.

“We are requesting that the government screen the film to the opposition so that we can contribute our opinions. Hopefully before it is aired to the public,” he added.

Lembah Pantai MP Nurul Izzah Anwar stressed that Pakatan was not only concerned with the film’s contents but the fact that it was funded by the government.

“We do not want a movie that will propagate Barisan Nasional’s narrow agenda,” she said.

“The issue is that it was partly sponsored by Rais. So they have to take responsibility for the depiction of the movie,” she added.