Gov't scraps controversial Merdeka logo

Gov't scraps controversial Merdeka l

The government has decided to replace the 55th National Day celebrations logo with the standard 1Malaysia logo after a week of public outcry.

Announcing this in a post on micro-blogging site Twitter, Information, Communications and Culture Rais Yatim said this is to "quell misunderstanding".

"To quell some misunderstanding, we (will) only have 1Malaysia as (the) logo for Merdeka (and) Hari Malaysia," he said.

Merdeka Day is celebrated on Aug 31 while Malaysians observe National Day on Sept 16.

Yesterday, Graphic Design Association of Malaysia (wREGA) president Zachary Ong said he was “appalled by the poor quality in creativity, skill, execution and rationale” of the logo for this year’s independence celebrations.

Ruckus over theme song, too

Netizens were up in arms over the logo, which DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang said would make Malaysia “a laughing stock”.

The uproar sparked parodies and jokes, and local designers even set up an online competition to come up with their own versions of how the logo ought to look like.

In the wake of the controversy, Rais yesterday defended the logo and dismissed the criticism as “political”.

The government's 55th Merdeka celebrations is not going smoothly, as its theme first caused all-round consternation for using BN's slogan 'Janji ditepati'.

Besides the ruckus over the logo, the theme song - which was penned by Rais - has also been slammed as a piece of "vulgar propaganda".