VARIOUS arts, heritage and civil society organisations in Penang and Kuala Lumpur have condemned the recent attacks on the myBalikPulau newsletter. The 60 groups came together to defend facilitator Arts-ED as well as the children who put it together. "The myBalikPulau project is similar to the numerous creative outputs of the Malaysian arts community which offer alternative and refreshing viewpoints so that we can truly appreciate the rich heritage of Malaysia," they said. Read here.

Among the newsletter's defenders is former Penang state exo Datuk Dr Toh Kin Woon, who said that funding for the project was approved in 2006 by the Penang Education Consultative Council. "The newsletter, myBalikPulau, which also received funding from the Penang Tourism Action Council and DiGi during the tenure of the previous state administration, is an output of the heritage project carried out in Balik Pulau."

Toh noted that the newsletter was put together by students from ages 10 to 19. "I therefore find it most objectionable and shocking that [Pulau Betong assemblyman] Muhammad Farid and several Malay groups could assert that the myBalikPulau newsletter had writings and illustrations that insulted the Malays." Read here.

In a press statement, he stressed that myBalikPulau is a heritage appreciation project, covering "heritage trails, photography and oral history by young schoolchildren from all ethnic communities, which was initiated, launched and funded by the PECC under the previous state government." Read here. Toh also praised the work done by Janet Pillai, head of Arts-ED, saying that the work they have done would not have been possible under the conventional school system. "Those who have accused Arts-ED and the current Penang government of having insulted the Malays through the publication have been most unfair to the many who have come forward voluntarily to serve the cause of education in the state." Read here.

Mangrove planting project along Gurney Drive

Two thousand mangrove saplings are to be planted in Gurney Drive in an area about the size of a football field. The mangrove forest will be located in the seafront off the Marina Bay condominium near Tanjong Tokojng. “We have planted 10,000 mangrove saplings in the area since last April,” said Tanjung Bungah state assemblyman Teh Yee Cheu. Read here.

An editorial in theSun praised the initiative, reminding readers of the 2004 tsunami, which coastal forests could have helped mitigate. "Mangrove forests are not just mere confusing entanglement of trees and roots but are environmental treasures whose ecosystem shelters a variety of wild plants, fish, crabs, crustaceans and birds. Since the forests are important to us, let us together help enlarge and maintain them." Read here.

Teenager's conversion overturned

A seventeen-year-old girl, San Pei Pei, who had converted to Islam is no longer a Muslim, according to the Penang Islamic Religious Department. State Religious Affairs Com­mittee chairman Abdul Malik Abul Kassim said that this was because the girl had not sought her parents' consent, as required by the law. San had been reported missing in the middle of January. Her grandmother found her at a home for adolescents run by the Perlis Religious Department, and had not been allowed to take her home. Read here.

The Penang Islamic Religious Department officially confirmed that Pei Pei is no longer a Muslim, and apologised to San's grandmother. Read here.

Other news

• Trader pays RM13,620 for 270 summonses: A businessman who was slapped with 270 summonses over a two-year period queued up at the George Town police district headquarters at 6am to pay his traffic summonses at a discount. Read here.
• Hospital to pay $62,800 for misdiagnosing patient as having HIV: FOR nearly 10 years, a former salesman was in hiding and severed contact with his family as he fought a court battle with a hospital which misdiagnosed him as HIV positive in 2001. Read here.
• Penang has no ‘water fight’: Unlike Kedah, Penang will continue to allow the public to pay water bills at post offices as it is more convenient. Read here.
• Urban planner named new MPSP chief: Penang has appointed urban planner Maimunah Mohd Shariff as head of the Seberang Perai Municipal Council (MPSP), the second local council in the state to be headed by a professional woman. Read here.
• The proof of the Penang rojak is in the eating: For those who love Penang rojak, mere mention of the dish is enough to make one lick the lips in anticipation. So where in Penang does one go for their fix? Read here.

For more news on Penang, please click through to iGT NetBuzz Feb 28 to March 6, 2011 here. For daily updates, "like" iGeorgeTown on Facebook or join us on Twitter.  

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