PRESS CONFERENCE ON 2023 MIAOHUI CELEBRATION
SPEECH BY THE CHIEF MINISTER OF PENANG YAB TUAN CHOW KON YEOW FOR THE PRESS CONFERENCE ON 2023 MIAOHUI CELEBRATION
18 October 2022
Mr Leong Keng Fei
Chairman of Penang Chinese Clan Council
Mr Ho Swee Choon
Deputy Chairman of Penang Chinese Clan Council
Penang Chinese Clan Council Vice Chairmen:
MR ANG OON LYE
MR PANG TEE CHIANG DJN
MR CHAN CHEE CHONG
DATO’ KHOR WAN TAT
Mr Lim Choon Hwang
Honorary Secretary
Dato’ Ong Kuen Heng
Treasurer
Representatives of Penang Cultural Inheritors Society【传承者】
Ms Kwoh Shoo Chen
Chairperson/ Advisor of Miaohui
Mr Choo Boon Chiang
Vice Chairman / Event Main Planner for Miaohui
Ms Chong Jian Mei
Honorary Secretary/ Assistant Event Main Planner of Miaohui
Mr Ong Han Yee
Member/ Assistant Event Main Planner of Miaohui
Distinguished guests and friends from the media
Good afternoon to all of you.
Time flies and in a few months’ time, we will be celebrating the Lunar New Year again. In Penang, everyone knows that the indispensable event during Chinese New Year is the Miaohui. It is the highlight of the Chinese New Year that everyone participates in and looks forward to.
After 2 years of online virtual Miaohui, next year for 2023 (in the Year of Gui Mao), we will be having Miaohui again in the physical sense. This event is expected to attract as many as 200,000 participants.
I can still remember that the first Miaohui event was held in 1999 which was the Year of the Rabbit. After 2 cycles of the Chinese zodiac years, next year will again be the Year of the Rabbit. This means that Miaohui is now in its 24th year.
The organiser of next year’s Miaohui is the Penang Chinese Clan Council while the planning and coordinating partner is the Penang Cultural Inheritors Society (Inheritors).
As the pandemic is now under control, the organising committee has decided that the Miaohui for 2023 can be held in the physical mode.
Due to the pandemic, many people for the past 2 years have adapted to the new requirements of working as well as studying from home. As such, to restore the Miaohui celebration back to its former physical mode will be quite a challenge for the organising committee.
However, I hope and believe that the planning and coordinating partner will not give up so easily. At the same time, I call on everyone especially the younger people to join as Miaohui volunteers, to learn more about our cultural heritage, broaden your horizons, to network and to take this opportunity to improve yourselves.
Next year’s Miaohui will b held on 28 January 2023 (Saturday) which is the 7th day of the Chinese New Year. It will be held in the heritage area of George Town, Penang.
After more than 2 years of “Lockdown” due to the pandemic, all of us should now have our spirits renewed and be ready to brave forward. Next year’s Miaohui theme as decided by the planning and coordinating partner is “Re-Start”.
Ladies & Gentlemen,
Organising the Miaohui is not a simple task. It covers a wide range of preparation work and involves a lot of planning and coordination work. From what I know, the budget to organise Miaohui for next year amounts to RM800,000.
We hope everyone can continue to support this annual event in order for our cultural heritage to be passed on to the next generation. Anyone who is interested to contribute towards the Miaohui Fund can contact Komtar assemblyman YB Teh Lai Heng at 016-4459808.
I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to the volunteers who have contributed selflessly and worked hard for the success of Miaohui over the years. Similarly, I would also like to thank our major sponsors who have actively responded and silently supported Inheritors and our Miaohui celebrations in the past.
Finally, we warmly welcome everyone to come to Penang for this cultural event during next year’s Chinese New Year celebration. I hope everyone will continue to support such efforts so that our cultural heritage activities in Penang will continue to flourish and benefit the future generations.
Thank you.