It's now four Merdeka themes for Pakatan states

Penang has announced that it will not use Pakatan Rakyat's alternative Merdeka Day theme because it had decided on one in July.

This means that all four states controlled by Pakatan Rakyat will use different themes.

At a press conference today, Deputy Chief Minister I Mansor Othman said the state will use Budaya Bersih, Merdekakan Rakyatas its theme.

Pakatan came up with the Sebangsa, Senegara, Sejiwatheme on Aug 1 as an alternative to Putrajaya's Janji Ditepati. 

The federal government's theme had been criticised because it is also being used by BN as a campaign theme in the run-up to the general election. 

Kedah and Kelantan too had decided on their respective themes before Pakatan's top leadership decided on the alternative theme. 

For now, it appears that Selangor is the only state that will adopt Pakatan's theme.

'Diversity of opinion'

Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said the "very appropriate" Penang theme had been picked on July 16 by the state executive council, when the federal one was publicised.

"The (state) theme will carry the message of a clean Penang which liberates the people," he noted.

Asked to elaborate, Mansor said the state wants to focus on a "cleaner, greener" Penang.

"By clean, we mean that we want the state to not only be green but free of corruption -because a clean government can free the people," he told reporters.

" ...we want to encourage more participatory politics and democratisation."

When it was pointed out that the Pakatan states would then have different Merdeka themes, Deputy Chief Minister II P Ramasamy shot back: "There should be diversity of opinion."

In Kedah, meanwhile, state Gerakan Youth Tan Keng Liang criticised the decision to use separate themes, saying Pakatan has failed to understand the true meaning of the Merdeka celebrations.

He said Merdeka should be celebrated in the spirit of unity.

"We should realise we would never have been able to achieve Independence without unity, so why use different themes for their personal agenda?

"The Pakatan states should not take the opportunity to disunite the people and then rule the country."