YOURSAY 'BN still behaves like the land belongs to it, as a birthright.'

Penang backs down on Merdeka Day theme

Vijay47: My personal view is that the unifying factor was the celebration of Merdeka itself with details being left to the states themselves.

I remember when Dr Mahathir Mohamad made a big song and dance about Joseph Pairin Kitingan using ‘Sabah leads the way’ as some display of treason. Now, with the same caption used by BN, it has been blessed as kosher.

Regarding this year's theme, if the Penang state government feels that adopting the federal one is for the greater good, then so be it, change it. After all, it takes a great man to realise a possible mistake and make amends for it.

JD Lovrenciear: A sign of wise leadership by Penang DAP. That is the way to go, Lim Guan Eng. It is okay if the government wants to curtail the creative spirits of an independent nation.

At the least we know that here is a state government that has humility as its defining strength for a greater future for all Malaysians.

Basically: Actually, Merdeka Day doesn’t belong to the BN government, nor to any government but to the people.

Putrajaya may hold celebrations but it has no copyright on how the rest of the people do it, it belongs to all Malaysian citizens. Furthermore, the civil service doesn’t belong to BN.

What this has done is show contempt for a state government, which, to use Umno's favourite word of late, is democratically elected by the people, the paymasters of the civil service in their respective states.

BN still behaves like the land belongs to it, as a birthright.

Stand up Be Counted: Penang can still use original ‘bersih’ theme as a sub-head or tagline. Probably BN is too embarrassed to associate itself with ‘Bersih, Cekap dan Amanah’.

Kolopilah: Najib Abdul Razak bulldozes his way to almost everything in his path. The Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM), the Malaysian Armed Forces and the Education Ministry can only say 'yes'. That's how bad the current situation in the country is now.

Watch Out: Well done, Penang. Backing down has only increased your stature in the eyes of the rakyat.

Anonymous #31081882: I think ‘Sehati Sejiwa’ is an apt slogan for this Merdeka celebration. We should all be ‘sehati sejiwa menjatuhkan kerajaan Barisan Nasional dan Najib’.

Prayer walks now popular with churches

Unafraid: We all love our nation. The prayer walks are to bless the nation and to pray for peace and harmony to reign in our land.

Malaysia is a blessed country. May it continue to be so as people of all races pray to their God so that Malaysia can continue to enjoy many more years of peace and prosperity.

May justice and righteousness be the order of the day. That's the hope and prayer of all Malaysians.

Anon.ymous: Yes, as believers we need to stand in the gap. We need to bring the message of reconciliation to all who would hear God's voice in all that is happening around us and to pray for the country, its citizens and leaders.

MA: The parishes under the Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur will be holding prayer vigils on Aug 29, 2015, in conjunction with our Merdeka celebrations.

We want to pray for our nation, for peace, unity and harmony and that leaders in our country will truly be people who serve the nation and its people.

Prudent: Pray, Christians, pray! Pray at all times and give thanks. Pray in your thoughts, use every spare moment to pray.

And give thanks for what God is doing in the country. Pray for the salvation of the elected from all communities in Malaysia. Pray for those who believed in secret.

Yes, even pray for Najib - for him to come clean and repent. Pray for those still managing our economy to have wisdom.

Negarawan: Stephen Ng, thank you for this article. In our moments of distress, we often forget that God is still in control. We pray for truth and justice to prevail in Malaysia.

AkuMelayu: Ng, very often Christians behave like the proverbial ostrich, putting their heads into the sand. Remember the Philippine's People's Power (using yellow as their colour).

The People’s Power did not succeed until the Philippine Catholic Church under Cardinal Sin openly supported Corazon Aquino to go against Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos.

Much as we (as mortals) invoke Heaven's help, history is made by Mankind. The Supreme Being allows Mankind to have free choice.

Ng, I urge you to provoke your Christian brethren to wear yellow and go to Dataran Merdeka.

Having prayer vigils (especially during the Aug 29-30 period of Bersih 4 rally) is not enough to get rid of pirates and thieves in our beloved ‘tanah air’ (homeland).

Doc: I hope the PDRM does not arrest us Christians for trying to topple the Najib government by praying and trying to influence God Almighty to do so.

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