Why not more neutral words for National Day theme, asks PN Youth chief

 

Ahmad Fadhli Shaari said he was only making a proposal, and it was up to the four PN-led states to consider whether to accept the alternative National Day theme and logo.

PETALING JAYA: Perikatan Nasional Youth chief Ahmad Fadhli Shaari has called on the federal government to use more neutral words for the National Day theme and logo.

In a video on TikTok, he said the National Day theme has political connotations as it contains words that were used by Pakatan Harapan and Barisan Nasional during campaigning for the recent state elections.

The national-level celebrations for National Day and Malaysia Day will have the theme “Malaysia Madani: Tekad Perpaduan, Penuhi Harapan”. On Saturday, Fadhli proposed an alternative theme of “Teguh Muafakat Malaysia Sejahtera” for the PN state governments in Perlis, Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu.

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The proposal drew criticisms from the government and NGOs alike, saying it would only cause disunity and that it went against the principles of federalism.

“It is the federal government which used the words ‘Madani’, ‘Perpaduan’ and ‘Harapan’ in its theme,” said Fadhli.

“These are words the ruling parties used during campaigning for the recent state polls and have political connotations.

“Why did they not use words that are more neutral? If you want to unite the public, choose words that are more neutral and can be received well by all Malaysians,” added the Pasir Mas MP in the video.

He said PN’s theme does not use the words ‘Bersih and Stabil’ even though they were words used during its political campaigning.

Fadhli pointed out that Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim defended the use of an alternative theme for the states governed by Pakatan Rakyat – the precursor to PH – when he was the opposition leader in 2012.

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He also said the Selangor government used an alternative theme and logo during its state-level celebrations last year.

He clarified that he was only making a proposal, and that it was up to the four PN-led states to consider whether to accept the alternative theme and logo.

Terengganu menteri besar Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar told FMT the state will be using the federal government’s logo and theme.

Perlis menteri besar Shukri Ramli said the state would use the federal theme, but not the logo because it contained the words “Malaysia Madani”.

Malaysia Madani is the motto of Anwar’s unity government which has been applied to its policies, statements and stationery. - FMT