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Letter from Pulau Tikus
 

 


Tan Phock Kin

TAN PHOCK KIN, the accountant and well-known lawyer, died in December. He was one of the founders, in 1952, of the Labour Party and was its general secretary.  on the Bar Council for many years. In 1955 was elected to the city council. After 1957 he and Boestaman and others formed the Socialist Front. which captured the city council; Ramanathan became mayor in place of Goh Guan Ho. In 1959 Phock Kin together with Lim Kean Siew and Veerapan were elected  members of Parliament. In 1959 he did not stand for elections to the state assembly which the Socialist Front boycotted.  In 1964 he decided to take up law and qualified as a lawyer.  In 1968 he and Tan Chee Khoon left the Labour Party and joined the newly formed Gerakan. A year later he, Lim Chong Eu, Syed Hussein Alatas and others formed the first Gerakan state government of which he was an Exco member.  The remarkable thing about the story of Tan Phock Kin is that he, a Baba, was appointed chairman of the board of Han Chiang School in 1963 and remained chairman for two years.  I was sorry to see that no one represented the Bar, state or city at the funeral of that humble man who was a model of self-effacement. Nor did I notice any representative from Gerakan.


Losing the "shine"

Despite what's been done to Penang and its neglect I don't think Penang has lost its "shine" as the moaners say.  Was the alleged loss of visitors due to the insufficiency of flights to Penang as the recent figures would suggest? And what is the effect of the attraction of the vast continent of China with its myriad heritage sites and its colossal Shanghai? And has Province been overlooked?

Those who complain of a run-down look are not aware I am sure that a substantial portion of what Penang looks like and smells like depends on Federal funds. The chief minister of Penang has just told the press that after 20 years,  federal funds of more than $468 millions for a sewerage project will at last stop Penang pouring its raw wastes into the sea. When I read in 1985 or thereabouts that human waste pollution in Penang waters was hundred times above the UN level I stopped swimming and lazying about in the water. . 


Our food still attracts the devotees, so also our hill and our beaches. But much damage has been done.  It started with the dream of the Manhatten Skyline and the encroachment of hotels on the Batu Ferringhi beach, virtually converting the the golden sands into their private property.  Today, those who dare go on the beach face dangers from horse riding - a horse is a potential killer when ridden by a holidaying tourist, and snarling water scooters. The Hill railway was a disgrace. Nothing has been done to arrest the balding of the hills. Basically the problem lies in obsession with the Manhatten Skyline and in the crippling local disease of tidak apa and the naive love for tinsel and all that glitters..           

In this issue we publish an revealing interview with Teresa Capol, a well-known tourist guide. She tells us what it is that really interests the tourists.  


In Hitler's footsteps

The disciplining of a student of Universiti Sains Malaysia at Penang makes chilling reading.  The judges at this sinister trial were the deputy vice chancellor in-charge of division of Student Affairs and Development (in the chair), three lecturers, a member of the  staff of the  Division of Student  Affairs and Development and believe it or not,  the head of Security Department - the Gestapo itself!

And the unhappy object of this Himmler  nutcracker was an unfortunate final year student in  mass communication studies. The charge? Helping in the campaign for a Keadilan candidate in  the elections!  In the eyes of the gestapo on the campus this must have been akin to an Al-qaeda threat to the security and reputation of the university

This scandal cries out for the repeal of the University and University Colleges Act (UUCA), copied from the police state of Singapore. Section 15 states that a student is not allowed to involve in or show support or sympathy for or opposition to any political party, union or organization without prior permission from Vice Chancellor. It bars students from any form of affiliation with political parties or associations. It also prohibits them from holding any gathering of more than five people, participating in activities outside campus, engaging in part-time work and releasing media statements without the written permission of the vice-chancellor.

This odious piece of legislation is one of many in this country which contradicts the constitution and makes nonsense of its freedom and liberties provisions. This student, now  in her final year must have qualified as a citizen to vote and campaign for any candidate that she chose. If those in authority had  a sense of humour they would have collapsed laughing at their comic silliness.

The affair was conducted as if Al-quaeda was about to launch an attack on the university. It is reported that before the "trial" started there were security  guards at a road-block on the way to the Division of Student Affairs and  Development.  Security guards were  at every entrance to the office of Division of Student Affairs  and Development. A police patrol car too did its rounds. Security men, with  cameras, watched. 
     
Thirty-seven elected  student  representatives have been told by the university authorities that  they are under investigation by the special branch over their  political stand. ..... In 2001, USM suspended several students for illegal assembly over the ‘Vision School' issue and six others for participating in a debate competition without prior permission. The university then punished over 30 students for illegal assembly who had gathered to support the six. Is it any wonder that the vice-chancellor is reported to have said during           Suhakam's Human Rights Day celebration this year that there was too much fear on campus

Hungry dogs

The Penang Society for the Prevention of Cruelty  o Animals has asked that people should  not feed stray dogs in the parks; that this only increases them and the danger to walkers. The society should also point out that these well meaning women should realise that they are also feeding crows, cats and rats. That is one of the reasons why the Pualu Ttikus market  area is well known for its fat rats.

Good marks

In the last issue we praised the speedy efficiency of the State government and the RIMV (JPJ) websites.  If the news is correct the hotels along Batu Ferringhi must also be commended for theiir life guard services: no lives were lost because the vigilant life guards had raised the red flag when the threatening waves of the tsunami first appeared on the horizon. #

K L Chai
                        



Friends of the Penang Botanic Gardens


Tel 227 9915       

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INDEX

Point to the article that you want to read, and CLICK

Index page     Book review    Food guide     Hang Li Po myth     Malay words from Chinese       Preparing the bride

Letter from Pulau Tikus     Raffles College      Tourism

 


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The Penang File Issue  38