PENANG INTERNATIONAL FOOD FESTIVAL 2019 OPENING CEREMONY
SPEECH BY CHIEF MINISTER OF PENANG YAB TUAN CHOW KON YEOW
AT PENANG INTERNATIONAL FOOD FESTIVAL 2019 OPENING CEREMONY
13 APRIL 2019
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[SALUTATION LIST]
Welcome to the Penang International Food Festival. First and foremost, thank you for inviting me to join all of you today and to share this joyous moment of the opening ceremony. It is a great honour for me to be here this evening.
As you may know, George Town was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2008 and Penang has been experiencing an influx of tourists ever since. In 2006, two years before George Town was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site, Penang International Airport received 1.5 million total passenger movement. In 2018, ten years after the listing, Penang International Airport received a staggering 7.8 million total passenger movement.
The UNESCO World Heritage site listing has benefitted Penang tremendously. Our streets have come alive with boutique hotels, quirky cafes and recognisable street arts as Penang steps into the tourism spotlight. George Town was listed as the only Asian destination in Lonely Planet's book "Street Art" in 2017 while CNN Travel listed Penang, one of the only two Asian cities, as one of the 19 best places to travel for the Spring of 2019’ list.
Ladies and gentlemen,
The Penang International Food Festival will be a two-week long culinary revelry. During the festival, make the most of your visit to Penang by visiting some of our newest attractions. I’m sure everyone has heard that
IKEA Batu Kawan has opened its doors since March 14. The opening day saw thousands of eager visitors and since we are here right now at PIFF which concerns food, I might as well reveal that over 32,000 Swedish meatballs were sold on that day!
Here in Penang, as far as food or street food for that matter, is concerned, we are accustomed to the prevalent choices of culinary delights because we are a melting pot of sorts for different cultures. This makes us unique because while we might differ in certain ways, we are all bound together through our common love for good food. It is precisely when it concerns our gastronomic interests that we discover we are not so different after all. This makes us Penangites and we are proud of it!
From char koay teow to assam laksa, from nasi lemak to ayam rendang, satay to putu piring, there’s just something different but tasty for everyone and no one is left out in the race for good food. The Penang International Food Festival is testimony of this fact!
This year marks the third edition of the Penang International Food Festival and a slight twist we are making would be to focus not only on the food but also on the geographical aspect of their origin such as Gertak Sanggul and Batu Feringghi which were mentioned earlier by the Exco for Tourism Development, Arts, Culture and Heritage Yeoh Soon Hin. Diversifying on the theme is one way, which to me, will shed light on the food culture of Penang, its origin and foster greater understanding on how different cuisines have shaped our culture and history so much to the extent they define the very cultural fabric of our state.
Finally, my heartfelt wish for everyone joining us at the state's biggest food festival and one of the premier food events in the country is this:
Enjoy to your hearts’ content not only the food but the quality time spent with your family, friends and loved ones because at the end of the day, it is a great blessing to be with people who are dear to you in a peaceful and vibrant state of Penang. This is the very essence of my vision Penang2030 in which we all live in a family-focused green and smart state that inspires the nation.
With this, I am pleased to launch the Penang International Food Festival 2019 officially.
Enjoy. See you again at the Penang International Food Festival next year!