'Noisy, sexy' ge tai row resolved amicably

Representatives from 20 Muslim groups had a fruitful closed door meeting yesterday with the organisers of the Hungry Ghost festival to discuss ways to resolve issues of disturbance caused by the “noisy and sexy” ge tai performances.

The meeting was held with the organisers from the Penang Teong Guan Association (PTGA) managed to resolve the issue amicably with the formulation of a three-step solution.

                            

For a start, the PTGA will take the matter up with the festival committee and ge tai performers to discuss the noise level issue.

They will also engage with the relevant authorities such as the police, fire department and municipal councils that issues the permits for the festival.

Both parties have also agreed to set-up an adhoc committee to resolve such issues in the future.        

Ge tai are stage shows traditionally organised during the month-long Hungry Ghost festival that the Chinese community observes during the seventh month of the Chinese lunar calendar.

This year the festival roughly coincided with the fasting month of Ramadan, and ended just before the Aidilfitri celebrations.

The noise levels and provocative female entertainers often engaged to entertain the crowds irked members of the Muslim community who said the concerts disrupted their prayers during the holy month.

A group of Muslims NGOs and mosque committee representatives eventually held a press conference to express their discontent over the issue.

‘Not political issue’

Yesterday’s meeting held at the office of the Masjid Kapitan Keling was attended by representatives of the Mosque Muhibah Committee – Mohideen Abdul Kadir, Meera Mydin, Munawar Sadiq – and the PTGA’s chairperson Hung Siak Hee, deputy chairperson Loke Poh Chye and advisor Lim Yam Koi.

Tanjung parliamentarian Chow Kon Yeow acted as mediator between the two parties.

Chow said after the meeting that both parties discussed the impact of noise levels on nearby residents and worshippers in the various mosque in the vicinity.

He said both sides expressed their grievances and exchanged their views in an open environment.

“It was discussed not only from the perspective of the Muslim group, but the Chinese association also expressed their concerns about the issue, (saying that their) members held an internal meeting between themselves before the dialogue,” he said.

“This is not a religious issue, or a clash of cultures and definitely is not related to politics,” he stressed.

Chow stressed that it was a purely practical issue, adding that the two religious months had coincided over the past four years.

 “The association will act on the group’s concerns by meeting the festival committee and concert organiser to ensure that the volume complies with the standard environmental requirements,” he said.

‘Mutual respect important’    

Meanwhile, Mohideen ( below ) expressed his appreciation to Chow for arranging the dialogue and called for all quarters to cease looking for a “political phantom” as this is a non-partisan issue.

He said those who attended the meeting were from different political backgrounds, but all of them shared the same concerns relating to the issue.

“Dialogue is the best way to solve these kinds of issues; do not keep your dissatisfaction in your hearts, otherwise it will be manipulated by someone bad the next day,” he said.

“We want to continue this (kind of) dialogue. We live in a multicultural society; problems will occur from time to time, but we do not want to argue or quarrel. Lets sit down and discuss to find the best solution,” he added.

                            

Hung agreed with Mohideen, noting how the dialogue went smoothly and was free from tension as both sides were able to raise their opinions with mutual respect towards each other.

“It is so important to dialogue in this multiracial society; we understand that they are not opposing the celebration, but simply have concerns about the noise level which disrupted their daily lives,” he said.