theSun | MONDAY DECEMBER 15 2008 13

Going green at Zoo Negara

SOME 4,500 children were
treated to an outing at Zoo Ne-
gara recently, courtesy of ING
Insurance Bhd in conjunction
with ING Day and the zoo’s 45th
anniversary.
People turned up in droves
to visit the zoo, and took part
in “green activities” such as a
Go Green relay race, packaging
test, food web, can crushing
competition and treasure
hunt, in a day of environmental
awareness and education.
ING Insurance president and
CEO Datuk Dr Nirmala Menon
said the event was a milestone
for the company and the zoo.
“Our aim is to educate chil-
dren on the importance of na-
ture, environmental issues and
how we can take responsibility
to protect the environment.
“We believe Zoo Negara’s
45th anniversary is a wonderful
Nirmala and
Mohamad
Ngah cut
a cake to
celebrate the
zoo’s 45th
anniversary.
opportunity to remind Malay- community.
sians of what the national insti- Zoo Negara director Dr Mo-
tution stands for – conservation, hamad Ngah said the zoo will
education and recreation.” continue to raise its standards
She said the initiative was to become a world-class zoo in
also in tandem with ING’s Go the future.
Green campaign, which is He thanked ING for the
one of the three key initia- support and all volunteers for
tives undertaken by the group helping to raise awareness on
worldwide to give back to the various environmental issues.

We can’t whitewash
history, says PHT
by Opalyn Mok
newsdesk@thesundaily.com
HISTORY is based on facts, and Penang
Heritage Trust (PHT) will abide by the
historical fact that Campbell Street was
once known as Jalan Nona Baru because
of the availability of “fresh chickens”
(prostitutes) in the area.
Its president, Dr Choong Sim Poey, said
history encompasses everything and this
means the good and bad.
“Wars are bad too, but they are part
of history and those are facts. No one can
change that and we can’t avoid the truth of
the past,” he said.
Responding to State Islamic Religious
Council president Shabudin Yahaya’ s
statement that an information board put
up by PHT had depicted Penang as a haven
for prostitution, Choong said it is a fact that
Campbell Street was known as Jalan Nona
Baru or Street of New Maidens.
“We can’t whitewash history to get rid
of what we don’t like and put up what we
like. This will take away the interesting
part about history,” he said.
However, he acknowledged Shabudin’s
displeasure over the board being placed on
a council-owned building and said it will
be removed from the building.
“We will remove the board and place it
somewhere else along that street but we
will continue to stand firm on the historical
facts on the board,” he said.
As for Shabudin’s suggestion that PHT
change the historical facts to state that the
historical enclave is also a meeting point
for those wanting to perform the haj, Dr
Choong said there is already another board
with this fact on it at another road.
“We have more than 100 boards
throughout the heritage core zone and each
has historical facts of the street and area so
each board contains different information,”
he said.
The board that had Shabudin all riled
up listed all the historical names of Lebuh
Campbell as Jalan Nona Baru (street of new
maidens), Jalan Makau (street of people from
Macau), Sin Kay (Hokkien for new street),
San Kai (Cantonese for new street) and Fa
Kai (Cantonese for Flower Street which is a
refined term for prostitutes).
Below the list is a short explanatory
paragraph in four languages.
The Malay version is:
“Nona baru” merujuk kepada gadis-
gadis yang baru sampai dari pelabuhan
ke rumah tumpangan di Jalan Campbell
untuk bekerja sebagai pelacur. Pendatang
Kantonis yang berlabuh disini biasanya
berlayar dari pelabuhan di Macau’.
The English version is:
A play on words sin kay refers to a
“new street” created between Pitt Street
and Penang Road in mid-19th century.
Also refers to “fresh chickens” (prostitutes)
straight off the boats. Cantonese migrants
often left through port of Macau’.

Kenny Heights community outreach programme

KH LAND Sdn Bhd, Persatuan Rumah Kanak- enable us to pool our resources, knowledge and
Kanak Ini Disayangi (Rumah Kids) and PIBG SK expertise to address the needs of our community
Seri Hartamas jointly launched the Kenny Heights and to deliver deserving charitable activities to the
community outreach programme at the Kenny disadvantaged,” said Jennifer Chow, KH Land head
Heights Estate’s show of marketing and corporate
villa near Sri Hartamas in communications.
Kuala Lumpur recently. As the lead sponsor, KH
As the primary corpo- Land will help raise funds
rate social responsibility for community service
initiative of KH Land Sdn projects and charitable
Bhd, the programme in- activities, with Rumah
tends to be a charitable Kids and SK Seri Hartamas
trust dedicated to com- as the beneficiaries.
munity enrichment and Rumah Kids will also
charitable contributions, receive furnishing and
particularly to children fittings from KH Land,
and women in the ar- including a book and toy
eas of general welfare, library for the new Rumah
health, and educational and environmental Kids in Subang Jaya, a home for 50 underprivi-
development. leged boys and girls.
“I am delighted that both Rumah Kids and the In addition, KH Land will support SK Seri
PIBG SK Seri Hartamas share our vision for the pro- Hartamas’ Green Earth Project, which is part of
gramme. We hope our tripartite collaboration will the main curriculum next year.