So, this year mark 55 years of Malaysia as a sovereign country. However, I get the feeling that some of us are not in the celebratory mood for obvious reasons:
Theme
The government introduced the “Janji Ditepati” theme for this year’s Merdeka Day celebration. A lot of people are upset with the theme because it is a replication of BN’s political campaign to win the hearts of voters. Political views aside, I think the government have no right to make a statement such as “Janji Ditepati”.
The government still has a lot to accomplish before they can proudly admit “Janji Ditepati”. The Government Transformation Programme has yet to show its intended result. The Economy Transformation Programme has yet to put Malaysia in the high-income nation group. It is evident that the government is working hard to deliver its promises but have the government accomplish enough to warrant a celebration? Has the government really done a good job? The rakyat should be the judge and "Janji Ditepati" should come for the rakyat's mouth.
And why use a political statement for the Merdeka Day theme this year? The government made a huge mistake by introducing the “Janji Ditepati” theme. It doesn’t reflect unity and patriotism, which is what Merdeka Day is all about. Correct me if I’m wrong, I think this would be the first time in 55 years we’re celebrating Merdeka Day with a political statement.
Logo
Okay, we already had a lousy start to a supposedly harmonious Merdeka Day celebration. But the Ministry of Information, Communications and Culture had to rub salt to the wound.
To further prove how lazy, uncreative and unprofessional the Ministry of Information, Communications and Culture is, the minister introduced a horrendous logo for the 55th Merdeka Day celebration.
Again, Malaysians grew sicker of the nonsense. Fortunately, the government listens to the rakyat’s discontent and has decided not to use the logo. Instead, the ministry had decided to use the 1Malaysia logo again for this year’s celebration.
1Malaysia logo is an excellent logo. However, to see the same logo being used four years in a row is a bit tiring. We have a lot of creative and talented Malaysians. One Malaysian even made an effort to contribute to this year Merdeka Day celebration by setting up a Facebook page and call upon fellow Malaysians to submit proposed alternate Merdeka logo. Some of the proposed logos showcase excellent design and creativity.
So why are we not using one of those logos? By ignoring the effort, the government is also ignoring Malaysian creativity. How are we supposed to attract more talents to Malaysia when the government does not acknowledge Malaysian talents?
Theme Song
Okay, hopefully this will be the last thing we have to deal with when it comes to our gloomy 55th Merdeka Celebration. Last week the Ministry of Information, Communications and Culture introduced the theme song for this year’s Merdeka Day.
And once again Malaysians are being fed with more bad news, this time regarding a ‘vulgar propaganda theme song’.
The song was not well received by Malaysians, to put it mildly. Since it was introduced last week, the song was given more than 30,000 thumbs down on Youtube. If the comments were any indication (the comments section was disabled yesterday), it shows that the general public just hate the theme song. And the minister had the audacity to ask what Malaysians think of it.
Now with all of these things going on, I can’t help but wonder why are we celebrating Merdeka Day this year?
Malaysians have become mature and more patriotic. The protest and discontent shown is proof that Malaysians love Malaysia and take the Merdeka Day celebration seriously. Why is the Prime Minister allowing someone who lacks understanding and creativity to manage a celebration as significant as this one?
Instead of bringing us closer together, it seems that this year's Merdeka Celebration is only dividing Malaysia apart. I urge the Prime Minister to listen to the Malaysians' voice and let us celebrate Merdeka Day as proud and united Malaysians.
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