Rais says Pakatan plagiarised N-Day themes

Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim said the move of opposition political parties to come up with their own themes for the celebration was a political game to humiliate BN in the eyes of the people, more so when predictions were that the next general election would be held this year, he said.

The information, communications and culture minister said, opposition political parties have run out of ideas and are pinching from the work of the Barisan Nasional (BN) government. Their own Merdeka Day themes had been used by the Information Department in its booklets on unity published in 2009.

 “They are desperate and bankrupt of ideas. They are also envious of the success and the fulfilled promises of the (federal) government all this while.

“As such, they just pinch whatever the Information Department has done and promote it as their own idea,” he Said.

Pakatan Rakyat announced that the states under its rule would use three different themes for this year’s Merdeka Day celebration because it did not agree with the federal government’s theme of “55 Years of Independence, Promises Fulfilled”.

The Kedah government is to use the theme “Terus Berbakti” (Continue to Serve); the Kelantan government, “Menerajui Perubahan” (Leading Change); and the Penang and Selangor governments, “Sebangsa, Senegara, Sejiwa” (One Nation, One Country, One Soul).

Rais said having three different themes simply went to show that the opposition political parties could not come to an agreement.

“This only proves that they cannot come to a consensus. I feel that the people can judge for themselves,” he said.