THIS year’s ‘Experience Christmas in Penang 2019’ with the theme ‘A Season of Love, Joy and Peace’, came to a meaningful close at the Esplanade as it conveyed the message of charity and what true Christmas is all about.
To make it all the more memorable, a record was set when Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow, Chong Eng, who is the state executive councillor for Women & Family Development, Gender Inclusiveness and Religions other than Islam, and other dignitaries lighted up the tallest upcycled Christmas Tree at the Esplanade tonight.
After the tree, which is 9.4m tall and 6m wide, was lighted up, The Malaysia Book of Records director for marketing solutions, Jwan Heah, presented the certificate to Chow.
The Chief Minister, in his speech earlier, said he hoped the light from the Christmas Tree would symbolically shine forth good wishes or blessings to all in Penang and for the state to be a role model in Malaysia.
“It has become a practice for the state government to celebrate festivities like Hari Raya Aidil Fitri, Chinese New Year, Deepavali and Christmas so that people of different races and faiths can experience and appreciate each other’s culture.
“Although we come from different backgrounds, we can live in harmony by tolerating and cooperating with one another for the well-being of society in Penang as well as working together with the Penang government for the further development of the state.”
Chow also congratulated the office of Chong Eng which together with the Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM) Penang made the ‘Grant A Wish’ project possible with donations to 20 charitable homes.
He added that recently, the state government launched the Penang Harmony Centre at Jalan Scotland so that the different religious bodies in the state could share a common premises to carry out their activities.
Chong Eng said over the years, the state has celebrated Christmas with open houses but this year, it has decided to share blessings with the less fortunate.
She said the 20 homes were identified by CFM Penang in the ‘Grant A Wish’ event in which the organisers tried to bless them with their respective wishes.
They were House of Hope, Pertubuhan Kebajikan Penyayang (SPS), Pusat Jagaan Sinar Ceria Bukit Mertajam, Persatuan Kebajikan Shammah Butterworth, Community Aids Service Penang, Pure Lotus Hospice of Compassion and Shan Children’s Home.
The others were ACS First Step Early Intervention Centre, SEED Project, Be Home, Eden Handicap Centre, Association of Resource and Education for Autistic Children, St Joseph Home, La Salle Learning Centre, Bright Spark Centre.
The remaining five homes, which received their gifts from anonymous donors, were Crystal Family Home, Glory Mission Centre, Pertubuhan Rumah Kebajikan Seri Cahaya, Penang Shan Children’s Home and Salvation Army.
“Love is to take the extra step and to give to those who need it,” Chong Eng said in her speech.
She said joy, which is the second message of the theme, was celebrated with a Christmas Charity Performance: ‘The Meaning of Christmas’ on Dec 1 at Wesley Methodist School.
All 500 tickets were sold out and the funds raised were channelled back to support the ‘Grant A Wish’ project.
“Various performers from different churches here in Penang showcased their talents and it was all on a voluntary basis for charity.”
As for peace, which is the third message of the theme, Chong Eng quoted Dalai Lama as saying that ‘world peace begins with inner peace’.
“So, it is important that we have peace in us in order to be at peace with others.
“When we are at peace with each other, only then we can achieve unity and our country will be in harmony. I believe it is the same throughout every religion to promote peace and unity at all levels of society.
“There is no country quite like Malaysia, a multicultural and multiracial living harmoniously.
“It is important for us to keep that in mind to appreciate the political and economic stability that we attained through strong bonds of friendship and unity among fellow Malaysians.”
CFM Penang chairman Rev Thomas Ch’ng said this year’s Christmas celebrations, with four main events – ‘Grant A Wish’, Christmas Charity Performance, Christmas Market (Dec 6-8) and Grand Finale – focused on charity.
He said giving to spread love, joy and peace to bless others is very much in the spirit of Christmas.
“We hope that the gift of love, joy and peace will not be only demonstrated during this Christmas season but also all the year round so that it can have a lasting impact on our society.
“I believe that all will agree that we want stability, peace and harmony and not the extremism that we see in different parts of the world.
“Love, joy and peace are universal values embraced by all God-fearing people who eschew evil,” Rev Thomas said.
The Christmas Tree will be lighted up from today until Dec 31. About 30 women from Women and Family Development Committee, led by Jessie Chong Yean Fung, made the ornaments for the tree.
The tree is sponsored by IJM Land, while Riicycle and Hero Green sourced the materials for decoration.
Project manager Rachel Teh said the materials used included 2,000 pieces of Mountain Dew 550ml rejected bottles, used CDs, fan covers, used fabrics, rattan and plastic baskets, plastic and metal containers, plastic cutleries, bottle caps, filter wrappers, bicycle wheel, toothbrushes, wires and cable ties.
There are also 70 lines of LED lighting.
Aside from the attractive Christmas Tree, the crowd was treated to dances and songs from different church groups.
Story by K.H. Ong
Pix by Chan Kok Kuan
Video by Ahmad Adil Muhamad
