Thesun 2008-12-15 Page13 We Cant Whitewash History Says Pht

theSun

13

| MONDAY DECEMBER 15 2008

Going green at Zoo Negara SOME 4,500 children were treated to an outing at Zoo Negara recently, courtesy of ING Insurance Bhd in conjunction with ING Day and the zoo’s 45th anniversary. People turned up in droves to visit the zoo, and took part in “green activities” such as a Go Green relay race, packaging test, food web, can crushing competition and treasure hunt, in a day of environmental awareness and education. ING Insurance president and CEO Datuk Dr Nirmala Menon said the event was a milestone for the company and the zoo. “Our aim is to educate children on the importance of nature, environmental issues and how we can take responsibility to protect the environment. “We believe Zoo Negara’s 45th anniversary is a wonderful

Nirmala and Mohamad Ngah cut a cake to celebrate the zoo’s 45th anniversary.

opportunity to remind Malaysians of what the national institution stands for – conservation, education and recreation.” She said the initiative was also in tandem with ING’s Go Green campaign, which is one of the three key initiatives undertaken by the group worldwide to give back to the

community. Zoo Negara director Dr Mohamad Ngah said the zoo will continue to raise its standards to become a world-class zoo in the future. He thanked ING for the support and all volunteers for helping to raise awareness on various environmental issues.

We can’t whitewash history, says PHT by Opalyn Mok [email protected]

HISTORY is based on facts, and Penang Heritage Trust (PHT) will abide by the historical fact that Campbell Street was once known as Jalan Nona Baru because of the availability of “fresh chickens” (prostitutes) in the area. Its president, Dr Choong Sim Poey, said history encompasses everything and this means the good and bad. “Wars are bad too, but they are part of history and those are facts. No one can change that and we can’t avoid the truth of the past,” he said. Responding to State Islamic Religious Council president Shabudin Yahaya’ s statement that an information board put up by PHT had depicted Penang as a haven for prostitution, Choong said it is a fact that Campbell Street was known as Jalan Nona Baru or Street of New Maidens. “We can’t whitewash history to get rid of what we don’t like and put up what we like. This will take away the interesting part about history,” he said. However, he acknowledged Shabudin’s displeasure over the board being placed on a council-owned building and said it will be removed from the building. “We will remove the board and place it somewhere else along that street but we will continue to stand firm on the historical facts on the board,” he said.

As for Shabudin’s suggestion that PHT change the historical facts to state that the historical enclave is also a meeting point for those wanting to perform the haj, Dr Choong said there is already another board with this fact on it at another road. “We have more than 100 boards throughout the heritage core zone and each has historical facts of the street and area so each board contains different information,” he said. The board that had Shabudin all riled up listed all the historical names of Lebuh Campbell as Jalan Nona Baru (street of new maidens), Jalan Makau (street of people from Macau), Sin Kay (Hokkien for new street), San Kai (Cantonese for new street) and Fa Kai (Cantonese for Flower Street which is a refined term for prostitutes). Below the list is a short explanatory paragraph in four languages. The Malay version is: “Nona baru” merujuk kepada gadisgadis yang baru sampai dari pelabuhan ke rumah tumpangan di Jalan Campbell untuk bekerja sebagai pelacur. Pendatang Kantonis yang berlabuh disini biasanya berlayar dari pelabuhan di Macau’. The English version is: A play on words sin kay refers to a “new street” created between Pitt Street and Penang Road in mid-19th century. Also refers to “fresh chickens” (prostitutes) straight off the boats. Cantonese migrants often left through port of Macau’.

Kenny Heights community outreach programme KH LAND Sdn Bhd, Persatuan Rumah KanakKanak Ini Disayangi (Rumah Kids) and PIBG SK Seri Hartamas jointly launched the Kenny Heights community outreach programme at the Kenny Heights Estate’s show villa near Sri Hartamas in Kuala Lumpur recently. As the primary corporate social responsibility initiative of KH Land Sdn Bhd, the programme intends to be a charitable trust dedicated to community enrichment and charitable contributions, particularly to children and women in the areas of general welfare, health, and educational and environmental development. “I am delighted that both Rumah Kids and the PIBG SK Seri Hartamas share our vision for the programme. We hope our tripartite collaboration will

enable us to pool our resources, knowledge and expertise to address the needs of our community and to deliver deserving charitable activities to the disadvantaged,” said Jennifer Chow, KH Land head of marketing and corporate communications. As the lead sponsor, KH Land will help raise funds for community service projects and charitable activities, with Rumah Kids and SK Seri Hartamas as the beneficiaries. Rumah Kids will also receive furnishing and fittings from KH Land, including a book and toy library for the new Rumah Kids in Subang Jaya, a home for 50 underprivileged boys and girls. In addition, KH Land will support SK Seri Hartamas’ Green Earth Project, which is part of the main curriculum next year.