(Sept 9): Veteran Sabah politician Datuk Dr Jeffrey Kitingan today accused Putrajaya of practising double standards in placing more importance on Merdeka Day on August 31 than it does on Malaysia Day on September 16.

He said that it was obvious that September 16, the day Malaysia was formed with Sabah and Sarawak, held no meaning for the federal government and Umno leaders.

"Is Malaysia Day meaningless or less important than Merdeka?” Kitingan, who is Sabah State Reform Party (STAR) chairman said.

This comes after Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had slammed the organisers and participants of the Bersih 4 rally, which was held during the Merdeka weekend (August 29 and 30), labelling them "unpatriotic".

"Yet when some faceless organisers are calling for a 'red shirt' rally with chilling blood-letting graphics urging 500,000 Malays to rally on September 16, a public holiday for Malaysia Day,  the PM remains silent.

"And the deputy prime minister (Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi) announces nonchalantly that Umno has no objections to their members attending the rally," Kitingan said.

He said although the rally organisers might be "faceless", the fact that Umno ministers and leaders supported it only showed who were the real masterminds of the event.

"The calls by Umno ministers and leaders to support it, for Umno members from divisions even as far as Sabah to join the rally, to be given allowance, transportation, food, red T-shirts and accommodation for some, only point to who are the real organisers and financiers.

“Can anyone be blamed for asking the PM to step down?"

He also said Najib and Putrajaya were "blatantly disrespecting Sabah and Sarawak by disregarding the actual independence day for both states and the date of the formation of Malaysia”.

"As it is, no recognition had been accorded to Sarawak’s Independence Day on July 22, which the Sarawak government had officially celebrated without even a congratulatory message from the federal government or leaders from the peninsula.

“The federal and Sabah Umno-led governments treated Sabah even worse, without even a mention of Sabah Independence Day on August 31, let alone celebrating it. To compound matters, the Sabah government celebrated Merdeka Day on August 31, which has no meaning to Sabahans and Sarawakians alike," he added.

In a warning to Putrajaya, the STAR chief said if the prime minister or his administration continued to support the September 16 rally and urged Umno members to attend, this would mean a "death blow" for a multiracial, multi-religious Malaysia.

Zahid, who is Umno vice-president and home minister, had said the party would not prevent its members from taking part in a planned "red shirt" rally organised by a pro-Malay rights group.

"It is organised by an NGO, and the NGO is likely to invite Umno. I think it all comes down to the individual rights of the members (to attend).”

The protest is said to counter the recent Bersih 4 rally and to express anger over footage of rally participants stomping on pictures of Najib and PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang.

However, police have said that the planned “red shirt" rally or Himpunan Rakyat Bersatu will not be allowed to take place over safety concerns. – The Malaysian Insider