Candidates turn singers for a night

By ANDREA FILMER

WHEN we mix together all our cultures, the world is ours.

That was the message to Malaysians from incumbent Pengkalan Kota assemblyman Lee Hack Teik who was invited to the Sri Maha Sakthi Muneeswarar Jalbhavani Devasthanam Hindu temple on Jalan Pengkalan Weld in Penang on Tuesday.

Joined by first-time candidate Khaw Veon Szu who is contesting the Tanjung parliamentary seat, Lee was honoured and garlanded by members of the Simpang Tiga MIC division.

The duo received blessings from the temple priest before lighting joss-sticks at several Buddhist and Taoist shrines and altars nearby.

“We are lucky that in Malaysia we have so many Gods who take care of us all,” said Lee who is defending the Pengkalan Kota seat which he has held since 1995.


Lee (left) and Khaw belting out a Kokkien song during their visit to Pengkalan Kota.
The grassroots leader also lived up to his saying “You okay, I okay, We karaoke!” as he belted out well-known Hokkien and Mandarin songs like Shi Jie Di Yi Deng (The Best in The World) to the enjoyment of the crowd near the temple.

Lee later opened the new Simpang Tiga MIC operations centre.

In Bukit Mertajam, DAP candidates also belted out songs during a ceramah on Tuesday night to entertain the audience.

Incumbent Bukit Mertajam MP Chong Eng and Berapit candidate Ong Kok Fooi sang famous Mandarin medleys from the 1950s and 1960s at the ceramah held at Permatang Tinggi.

Ong sang Xiang Si He Bian (River of Memory) at the end of her speech which focused on education issues and the crime rate.

“I want to tell the audience not to forget me,” said Ong who is from Sungai Petani.

Chong Eng sang Sally Yeh’s Xiao Sa Zhou Yi Hui (Taking a Stroll) when plastic containers were passed around to collect funds for the DAP campaign trail.

“We wanted to entertain the audience and not just have a very serious political talk,” she explained after the ceramah.