THE 22nd JOINT CONFERENCE, held in conjunction with the centennial celebrations of Chinese revolutionary Dr Sun Yat Sen, attracted more than 30 delegates from various Sun Yat Sen-related museums and memorials. Held in Bayview Hotel, Penang, it began last Friday (Nov 19, 2010) and this is the first time it is held outside China. Read here.

On Monday, the Penang Sun Yat Sen Centre received a boost from the federal government, in the form of a RM150,000 allocation to refurbish the centre. The centre is exhibiting 29 miniatures of Dr Sun Yat Sen in conjunction with the Penang Philomathic Union's 102nd anniversary. Read here.

Heritage huff

Information, Communication and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim claimed that the Penang state government is lagging behind Malacca regarding the promotion of heritage tourism. Saying that the federal government has allocated RM2.8mil to the state to rehabilitate heritage buildings, he urged the state government to be more proactive. "What's the use of state governments often asking the federal government how much it wants to contribute? We too want to ask the state governments too how much their contributions are." Read here.

In response, Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng asked the minister to provide evidence to his claims, saying that Dr Rais's statements were politically motivated. "Dr Rais should not forget that the state had been deprived of the promised RM25mil funding for being jointly listed with Malacca as a World Heritage Site," Lim said in a statement. "Malacca received RM30mil and we are criticised for not doing enough for heritage conservation. But despite such discrimination we have made progress in certain key heritage areas." Read here.

Other news

• Group gate-crashes anti-ISA forum in Penang: About 40 people, who labelled themselves as a pro-Internal Security Act (ISA) group, disrupted an anti-ISA forum which was held in the open here. Read here
• Penang withdraws stop-work order on double-track project: The Penang government has agreed to withdraw a stop-work order on the Ipoh-Padang Besar railway double-track project after MMC Corporation Berhad-Gamuda Berhad (MMC-Gamuda JV) gave its flood prevention assurances. Read here.
• Remembrance Day in Penang: "It is commendable that theSun has reported promptly, accurately and indepth on the Remembrance Sunday service at the Kuala Lumpur Cenotaph on Nov 14". Read here.
• Sacked workers seek redress: Twelve rapidPenang bus drivers who were sacked last month for allegedly committing various offences have filed a complaint with the Industrial Relations Department. Read here.
• The place I call home: "As I write this, I am sitting in an office in Rome, where I shall be working for the next week. Outside, the rain is lashing down and a strong wind is whipping at the coats of passersby and turning umbrellas inside-out". Read here.

Comments (0)

Show/Hide comments

Show/Hide comment form