BENEATH this stone lie the remains of Francis Light Esq who first established this Island as a British Settlement. Died 21st October 1794.’
Although it is more then two centuries old, the black words are still clear on the marble grave that houses the remains of Captain Francis Light — the founder of the Prince of Wales Island.
UNLICENSED traders are cashing in on the Deepavali festive season at Little India in George Town, Penang, raising the ire of shopkeepers who are already feeling the pinch due to the economic slowdown.
The 150-odd resident traders are urging the Penang Municipal Council to take action against the unlicensed traders numbering about 20.
A DOWNPOUR lasting more than three hours did not dampen the high spirits of some 700 spectators who converged on the Esplanade in George Town for the Lantern Festival on Saturday night.
Instead of a sea of colourful lanterns, there was a sea of umbrellas at the site and some events like a lion dance on stilts had to be cancelled.
A MID-Autumn Festival lantern procession will be held in Penang for a charitable cause on Saturday.
Pulau Tikus assemblyman Koay Teng Hai said the 1.5km procession would start at 7.30pm from Gurney Plaza on Kelawei Road and end at Mr. Pot Cafe on Gurney Drive at about 8.45pm.
“Funds raised will be given away to five charitable organisations,” he told a press conference.
He said children from the charitable organisations would also take part in the procession, adding that free lanterns would be given to children who register for the event.
Koay encouraged Malaysians from all races to take part in the event which was aimed at introducing and promoting Chinese culture apart from celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival which is also known as the Mooncake Festival.
Among the activities lined up are chingay performances, cultural shows, a band parade, clown performances, a magic show, dragon and lion dances, and a float procession.
Koay said 10 hawker food stalls would be set up where the procession ends.
PENANG is set to become a world-renowned medical tourism hub with Europe, the United States and Papua New Guinea emerging as new potential markets.
State Tourism Development and Culture Committee chairman Danny Law Heng Kiang said the state’s medical tourism was currently well known among regional tourists from the Asean and the Middle East markets.
He said tourists from western countries were attracted to the medical tourism industry here as they would only be paying about a fifth of the total medical costs in their respective countries.
“We plan to expand the market to cater to tourists from Europe where surgery fees are exorbitant compared to our rates.
“For instance, a tooth extraction may cost about RM6,000 in Europe while over here, the Europeans only need to pay less than RM1,000,” he told reporters at the ‘World Tourism Day’ press conference at Traders Hotel in Penang on Sunday.
State Immigration director Abdul Rahman Harun said the action was taken following the case of passengers on a Hong Kong-bound flight being stranded for 55 minutes on Sept 28 because no Immigration officers were on duty.
FOUR roads in George Town, Penang, will be turned into one-way streets starting in mid-October, said Komtar assemblyman Ng Wei Aik.
He said the roads were Lorong Selamat, Jalan Zainal Abidin, Lorong Madras and Lebuh Ong Chong Keng, adding that a trial run would be conducted sometime in mid-October.
“We sent out some 600 letters to the residents and traders involved and received mostly positive feedbacks on the proposal.
“They were given a month to decide on the matter and out of the 600, only two were against the decision,” he told a press conference on Friday.
BUSINESS ties between Penang and the Satun province received a boost following a courtesy visit by 24 delegates from Thailand to the Penang Chinese Chamber of Commerce (PCCC) office here.
The delegates, who represented various sectors such as agriculture, commercial, finance and tourism, took the oppor-tunity to foster better understanding with the PCCC yesterday.
The Weld Quay terminal, a notable landmark and gateway to Penang Island, should be redeveloped into a public transportation hub with the ferry, port and other transportation services integrated into one.
Local Government, Traffic Management and Environment Committee chairman Chow Kon Yeow said the terminal had the potential of being transformed into the island’s main transportation hub with the future LRT or inter-city bus services integrated into it as well.
IN an effort to promote cycling, the state government is planning to implement two dedicated bicycle lanes – one from Gurney Drive to Tanjung Bungah and another around the George Town heritage enclave.
State Local Government and Traffic Management Committee chairman Chow Kon Yeow said the initiative was aimed at promoting cycling as a healthy lifestyle activity and sport.
FEDERAL Government investment arm Khazanah Nasional and the Penang Municipal Council have embarked on a series of meetings to look into the possibility of turning the century-old Campbell Street Market into a heritage centre.
State Local Government and Traffic Management Committee chairman Chow Kon Yeow said he was informed that Khazanah was interested in turning the market into a heritage centre following Penang’s successful listing as a Unesco World Heritage Site.
THE public are invited to join the Children’s Lantern Festival Unity Night on Oct 2 at the Medan Mayang Pasir playground in Bayan Baru, Penang.
Organised by the Bayan Baru Rukun Tetangga (RT) ladies wing with the cooperation of the Bayan Baru Cultural Association, the event is from 8pm to 10pm. RT chairman Chai Tsing Boo urged all races to join in the fun.
“We hope to see Indian and Malay parents bringing their kids as this event is held to foster national unity based on the 1Malaysia concept.
“The highlight of the event will be a lantern procession led by the Penang Xuan Teik Lion Troupe around the Bayan Baru township.
“There will also be a lucky draw for the kids,” he said, adding that free lanterns, goodie bags and face masks would be distributed to all participants.
Among the activities lined up for the night are multi-cultural dance performances as well as line dancing and karaoke sessions.
For details, call 016-4208602 (Chai) or 012-4683555 (Khoo).
Penang Tourism Development and Culture Committee chairman Danny Law Heng Kiang said a television crew from Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) was in Penang for nine days to capture the celebrations.
“There are a lot of Chinese citizens — from migrant workers to businessmen, who are working outside China,” said RTHK producer Bertha Chan Cheuk Ling in a recent press conference.
“For the first time, RTHK, an official government station, is doing special reports on these people in a number of South East Asian countries,” she said.
Chan added that simultaneous shootings for TV were conducted in other places including Malacca, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines.
She said the shooting in Penang was focused on cultural celebrations and other heritage sites in the state.
“The Hungry Ghost Festival in Penang is very attractive as it is not celebrated on such a large scale in Hong Kong.
“We don’t have so many events, activities and dinners going on at this time.
She added that her television crew also captured scenes at the 19th century Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion, the Clan Jetties, the Khoo Kongsi clanhouse, Dr Sun Yat Sen’s Penang base and the Kuan Yin Teng or Goddess of Mercy Temple.
“The one-hour programme on Penang is set to air once a week for five weeks on TVB starting Dec 12,” she said.
RESIDENTS of Pulau Tikus are generally supportive of the Penang Government’s proposal to clamp the wheels of vehicles that are parked illegally on the roadside and five-foot ways there.
The most enthusiastic response was from market-goers who had to put up with traffic jams due to double-parking along the roads all these years.
George Town World Heritage Office head Maimunah Mohd Sharif said up to Sept 18, there had been 24 online registrations for the competition.
She said 20 of those registering were from Malaysia, two from Britain and one each from Australia and Indonesia.
Maimunah said those interested in taking part in the competition had to first register and pay the entry fee before proceeding to the second stage, when they would have to provide their designs and plans.
“The designs can be in the form of landscape, sculpture, drawings and so on,” she said here yesterday.
Details of the “Design Idea Competition: Marking the George Town Heritage Site” are available at http://www.markinggeorgetown.com.
ALL races should vote for their favourite Penang food for the compilation of the state’s most popular cuisine in a brochure.
State Tourism Development and Culture Committee chairman Danny Law Heng Kiang said some 1,450 people had voted on the state’s tourism site(www.visitpenang.gov.my) for their favourite local cuisine so far.
“The only non-Chinese food that made it to the top 10 list is the nasi kandar. Perhaps this is because most of the voters are Chinese.
“The poll closes at the end of this month and I hope the other races will also cast their votes because we want to have other food like nasi lemak and satay in the list to reflect the many delicious Malay and Indian cuisines available in Penang,” Law told a press conference on Saturday.
It was earlier reported that an updated ‘Penang Food Trail’ brochure will be produced next month after the poll.
THERE were traffic snarls at several places in Penang as holidaymakers thronged tourists spots and shopping centres on the island over the extended weekend.
One of the worst affected roads was Jalan Air Itam where the snarl stretched for a few kilometres yesterday with many vehicles bearing outstation registration numbers heading towards Kek Lok Si Temple and the Penang Hill funicular train station.
State traffic operations officer DSP K. Wari said heavy traffic was also reported at Gurney Drive, Batu Ferringhi and near shopping centres in Farlim and Bayan Indah.
The tourists, who were stranded from 6.45pm, were transported to the lower station in Air Itam in batches by two buses and five four-wheel drive vehicles from 8.30pm.
Banker Mohd Zamri Ahmad Zakri, 41, from Kuala Lumpur, who was with six other family members, was among the first batch of 150 tourists brought to the lower station in a bus.
