Penang State Level CNY Open House 6th Feb 2011

The state-level Chinese New Year open house will be held in Balik Pulau, Penang.

The celebration has been scheduled for Feb 6.

Event coordinator and Komtar assemblyman Ng Wei Aik said Balik Pulau had been chosen as it was the southwest district’s turn to house the event.

“The state government has been rotating the celebration among Penang’s five districts.

“In 2009, we had the state-level open house on Campbell Street (in the northeast district) and last year, it was organised in Bukit Mertajam (in central Seberang Prai district).

“This year it will be held in Balik Pulau while next year, festivities will be held in either the north or south Seberang Prai district,” Ng said, after distributing promotional flyers to market-goers.

He said the Balik Pulau celebration would be centred in the vicinity of the Jalan Tun Sardon market complex on Thursday.

“We will have four main areas during the open house — the main stage, folklore art stage, musical opera stage and street performance area.

“All these will be located in front and around the new market complex where the entrance road (separating the market complex from the Rapid Penang depot) will be closed to traffic,” Ng said.


He said among attractions for the event, that would run from 6pm onwards, were acrobatic performances including one featuring a children’s acrobatic troupe from Beijing, ‘mask changing’ performances and ‘Shanghai Night’ dances.

Ng said several schools in the southwest district would also be presenting performances.

“Accomplished local photographer Jimmy Tan will also be visiting the area before the open house and his pictures of famous Balik Pulau sites will be showcased in an exhibition during the event,” he said.

Parents who want to register their children for a colouring/drawing contest and Chinese New Year singing contest that will be held before the start of the open house should call Tan Cheng Oee (019-4521077) or Lim Kheng Seng (019-5650480) by Jan 30.

Ng added that some 30,000 people were expected to attend the event.

“We are asking Rapid Penang to extend its operating hours till midnight on that day and also increase the number of buses heading towards Balik Pulau,” he added.

Penang Yang di-Pertua Negri Tun Abdul Rahman Abbas and Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng are expected to attend the event.

Hmm, must be and will be very nice and exciting. Been there before? If you haven't been to this part of the island, it's the right time and opportunity you pay a visit there. Ang pow as well of course!

More no-car zones in Penang?

Penang Municipal Council is now looking at introducing more areas under the proposed “no-car zone” within the heritage enclave.

This is following the success of a recent trial run at the Esplanade.

The council’s Infrastructure and Transport committee alternate chairman Ramlah Bee Asiahoo when contacted, said the trial run at Jalan Tun Syed Sheh Barakbah, which was introduced three Sundays ago between 8am and 5pm had received positive feedback from the public.

“Families, tourists and the senior citizens visiting the area were happy with the campaign since they were able to walk around freely and take in the fresh air since there was no high level emission of carbon monoxide.

“Tourists had also commented that they could explore the heritage enclave better by riding on trishaws to admire the scenery of places such as Fort Cornwallis,” she said recently.

She said the proposed move was also introduced as part of the state’s ‘Cleaner, Greener’ campaign initiative.

Ramlah said the committee would hold a meeting today to discuss and study the results of the trial run and whether to expand the campaign to restrict the movement of cars to other areas within the enclave.

Last October, state Youth, Sports, Women, Family and Community Development Committee chairman Lydia Ong Kok Fooi suggested the idea of banning vehicles from certain roads in the heritage enclave.

She informed council president Patahiyah Ismail about it in August.

She had also said that Singapore, (Jakarta) Indonesia, Paris and London already had such a policy in place, and Penang would be the first in the country if the state could adopt such a policy.

I believe this is a very good idea. Imagine people walking freely, relax and enjoying the walk with fresh air around and peaceful surroundings...perfect right?

TNB rebate now fixed at 2.5%

Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) customers will now get a 2.5% rebate per year for their deposit instead of 5%.

TNB said in a statement that since the new rebate percentage came into effect on March 9, 2010, the period from Jan 1 to March 8 would remain at 5%.

A TNB spokesman said the rebate would be credited into users’ January electricity bill.

“Depending on how much they deposited based on their account type, 2.5% of that amount will be subtracted from this month’s bill,” he said.

He added that customers could head over to any TNB branch for further explanation about the rebate.

I believe many will be raising their eyebrows on the rebate. Perhaps someone should come forward to explain this, any volunteers?

Penang Chinese Town Hall’s (PCTH) Chinese New Year Open House on Feb 4

The Penang Chinese Town Hall’s (PCTH) Chinese New Year Open House in George Town is set to be a grand affair this year with myriad cultural activities and food for the public.

PCTH deputy chairman Datuk Lam Wu Chong (pic) said the two-hour event to be held on Feb 4 (the second day of the first lunar month), would start at 9.30am.

“All races are welcome to share in this joyful celebration. There will be a buffet and even halal Malay food for the public,” he told a press conference on Friday.

He said the open house was an important annual activity for the PCTH to strengthen the relationship with the community and to foster better mutual understanding between all races.

The event will include a lion dance, an appearance by the God of Prosperity to give away candy, Chingay, Chinese orchestra, festive songs by a choir and a colourful cultural performance.

Among the dignitaries expected are Yang di-Pertua Negri Tun Abdul Rahman Abbas and Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng.

Wow, a grand event....but I'm just afraid the lack of parking space :(

Ride with Rapid Penang and win iPads !!!

Public bus operator Rapid Penang will hold a lucky draw as part of its upcoming Lunar New Year celebration where the top prizes are eight iPads.

The lucky draw is part of the public transport operator’s aim to reward loyal commuters.

The Rapid Ride to Prosperity Draw will be held from Feb 1 until April 30.

Rapid Penang chief executive officer Azhar Ahmad told a press conference at the Eastin Hotel on Friday that the company was finding ways to excite commuters as well as enticing new passengers.

“We hope to attract more white collared workers to use our servi-ces,” he said.

Azhar said the move was in line with the government’s drive to expand public transport ridership.


Commuters have several ways of becoming eligible for the draw.

They can either obtain the Youth or Emas receipt tickets, which are sold mainly to the young and elderly respectively, or by collecting 30 Rapid Penang bus tickets.

Those with such tickets are entitled to one lucky draw per entry.

They can also choose to purchase the Rapid Preferred receipt ticket, which will be an added bonus, as they will be entitled to two entries.

The contest is open to all commuters.

They can send as many entries as they want.

However, each winner can only win one prize in the draw.

Entry forms are available at all Rapid kiosks as well as via its website at www.rapidpg.com.my.

All entries must reach Rapid Penang before midnight on April 30.

If any uncle or auntie that got this IPad and willing to sell it out at a bargain price, please contact me, I want !!! Haha :)

Annual Chinese New Year Cultural and Heritage Celebration 2011 Photography Contest

The annual Chinese New Year Cultural and Heritage Celebration in George Town will see something new this year as for the first time, a photography contest will be held during the event.

Winners will win cash and prizes worth more than RM10,000.

Co-organised by Penang Press Club and sponsored by Canon, the contest is divided into three categories — press club members, students and an open category.

Contestants are required to submit photos depicting lively scenes of the celebration, which will be held on Feb 12 from 3pm to midnight.

Organising chairman Ang Yee Shyuan said the photographs submitted would be displayed in a gallery during next year’s celebration.

“Some visitors had complained that they did not have enough time to tour all the places. The photo gallery will allow our visitors to get a better idea of the available attractions,’ she said.

Another interesting event is the ‘human chess’ competition, where students would take on the roles of the various Chinese chess pieces on a giant board.

“The last time a similar event took place in Penang was back in 1975.

“This time, we are holding it to raise funds for private education institutions in Penang,” she said, adding that it is co-organised with Penang Chess Association.

It's always nice to capture the festive mood especially Chinese New Year celebration and environment, probably due to the fact that I'm a Chinese. For all the photography friends out there, this is just a nice reason and occasion for the CNY theme photoshoot :)

A change for the good @ Carnarvon Street

Motorist who are stuck in a jam during peak hours along Carnarvon Street can now enjoy a scenery of green trees to sooth their nerves as the Penang Municipal Council (MPPP) has given the street a new look.

The green pilot project saw the planting of 60 trees along the road and it was implemented in conjunction with the second anniversary of George Town’s listing as Unesco World Heritage Site.

An MPPP spokesperson said a total of RM101,604 was spent on the project, with RM75,144 of the total cost funded by Kha-zanah Nasional Berhad through its subsidiary Think City Sdn Bhd for the purchase of trees.

“The remaining RM26,460 was funded by MPPP for the purchase of materials,” he said.

He said four types of jungle species — Garcenia cova, Sterculia parvifolia, Syzygium syzygoides and Sindora coriacea — were selected among the 11 types proposed by the landscape consultant Sek San Design that was appointed by Think City Sdn Bhd.

“We planted 15 trees of each type respectively,” he said.

“The selection of trees was also in accordance with our aim to alleviate heat and add colour and fragrance to the city.

“It is also our objective to calm down road users in inner city roads as the greenery can be soothing. We also want to support the use of local flora,” he said.

He added that beautification work along the street started on Dec 17.

Parti Cinta Malaysia action team chief Tham Weng Fatt, in a statement, gave the beautification work a thumbs-up.

“This is a great move. They should also light up the road with colourful bulbs.



“I hope they will water the plants daily and repair the damaged road divider along Carnarvon Street.

“They should also bring up the concrete road divider height to 30.5cm to prevent motorcyclists from going over the divider,” he said.

This is a very good idea and implementation. I really hope that the council will continue to do the maintenance and care for the green plants there. After all, it's always so hot when travelling along that road. Hopefully this will be a thing in the past in few years' time.