KTemoc Konsiders
I wouldn't dare claim that the Han Chiang School in Penang is Pakatan's equivalent of Tahrir Square, but as The Malaysian Insider reported in its headline news article Guan Eng trying to politicise CNY, says Najib as follows:
According to BN sources, Han Chiang has been Pakatan Rakyat and DAP’s stronghold for fund raising and rallies and is infamous for the 2008 catalyst rally which caused the Chinese wave of voters to swing to PR and DAP.
In earlier days the chief financial sponsor (backer) of independent Chinese language education (up to pre university or HSC level) was Lim Lean Teng, one of the early Penang millionaires, who believed very strongly in Chinese language education and put his money where his mouth was.
Even as a kid I came to know of him (because of his Chinese education sponsorship) and learnt where his mansion was located along Penang's 'Millionaire Row', what is today's Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah, very near Kedah House (or Istana Kedah today?).
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| Han Chiang |
The alumni of Han Chiang School may be found throughout SE Asia, especially in Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Brunei, etc, where their rich parents sent them to the only place (then) in the region to provide traditional (pre Communist China) style of Chinese primary and secondary education. I presume Taiwan was the only other source but alas, outside the SE Asian region, while Hong Kong provided such education in the Cantonese (but not Mandarin) language.
TMI informed us that the new backer of Han Chiang School is Tan Sri Tan Kok Ping, a matey of Penang CM Lim Guan Eng.
It's claimed that Han Chiang is Pakatan's or more correctly, DAP's 'hallowed grounds' as it was here that the DAP rally in 2008 'convinced' Penangites to ubah (change) the state government once again, after 40+ years.
Thus the rumour has been that DAP is particularly upset by the BN staging its Chinese New Year (CNY) celebrations cum 'Open House' at the school facilities, right at its politically 'hallowed grounds'.
The guest of honour at the BN CNY celebrations is PM Najib Tun Razak, and the star attraction the man from Korea, Gangnam style rapper Psy, but as reported, the location of the event rather than Psy has the greater political significance.
Unfortunately, as I mentioned in a previous post Silly season & serious scrutiny, DAP has unwittingly allowed DPM Muhyiddin to seize the moral high grounds by its silly spoilsport campaign against the BN's CNY event. In that post I had written:
As a DAP supporter, I'm actually embarrassed by DAP and Pakatan's campaign against the BN 'Open House', UNLESS of course DAP can show that the event involves expenditure of public funds.
Yesterday, when I read Malaysiakini's Vox Populi, I was amazed that more than a few readers actually (and stupidly) urged Psy not to come, as if the Korean would forego his handsome fee to take sides in Malaysian politics.
This sort of emotional outburst, going to the extent of expecting a foreigner to take up partisan allegiance and show biased sympathy in Malaysian politics, is regrettable, immature and disappointing.
If indeed the event starring Psy is funded by the BN or private sources, then Pakatan has not only gone silly but in the process has unwittingly and lamentably elevated low brow Muhyiddin to high moral grounds when the DPM stated in today's Malaysiakini that Guan Eng aims to spoil BN's CNY bash.
Well, realizing BN now has a winner, PM Najib has swiftly jumped on the Muhyiddin's bandwagon to also play victim by stating:
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