Toy museum owner calls Penang gov't the Joker

A life-size statue of ‘the Joker’ from the superhero Hollywood  movie The Dark Knight is being displayed at a local toy museum in Penang to represent what its owner thinks of the present state government.

Loh Leng Heng, who runs the Toy Museum in Tanjong Bungah, said if the state government under Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng does not get its act together soon, it would turn from a CAT (competent, accountable and transparent) government to the Joker, who is the villain in the 2008 movie.

He said he has been looking for a piece of land to relocate his museum, which reportedly attracts thousands of visitors every month and has 40,000 toys on display, while another 30,000 are still in storage due to the lack of space, but unfortunately his call for the state’s assistance has fallen on deaf ears.

“I have applied to rent a piece of land at the Botanical Gardens but sadly that land was used to build a Tamil school although I had put in my application earlier,” he claimed.

“I am not asking for special treatment, I want to rent a space at market price but I could not even get to meet anyone at state government level, who only allow the rich to meet with them,” he lamented.

Loh is fuming because his museum, dubbed as the largest collection of toys in the world, has been omitted from the official state tourism websites, maps, brochures and pamphlets for the last two years.

‘Criteria for Top 12 places to visit unclear’

The state has a list of the Top 12 popular places to visit but Loh claimed that the criteria to be listed there was unclear as it also excluded world famous spots like the Reclining Buddha and the Snake Temple.

He is furthered angered by not being able to get an appointment with state Tourism Development and Culture Committee chairperson Danny Law to ask for his clarification on the matter.

“I have written them 50 letters since my problem started but there had been no response.

Moreover, I cannot get to meet Law although I have gone to his office to try to get an appointment with him,” said Loh, who had managed the museum for about five years.

Speaking in a very angry tone, Loh warned that if his grouses were not looked into, he will display various statues, including the ‘Terminator’, for another 104 weeks to gradually reveal all the negative actions involving the state government.

He has also directed his unhappiness at the officers in Penang Global Tourism Sdn Bhd, a state agency, calling them ‘Little Napoleans’ for undermining state tourism and collecting ‘ gaji buta ’ for the past two years.

He has asked Law to clarify if he was merely a “yes man or puppet” who can easily be misguided and misled by the Little Napoleans.

PG Tourism: We can’t accommodate everybody

An official from PG Tourism, Yuszarudin Yusof, has however informed Loh that there was no deliberate omission of the museum in the latest map of Penang by the agency, which was set up to promote state tourism.

Yuszarudin said given the space constraint, the agency could not possibly accommodate everybody; and that other than the toy museum it had also omitted the Aquarium in Batu Maung.

“In producing the new edition, we considered many factors in the listing of places of interest,” said Yuszarudin via email.

“From the state’s perspective, we are now placing greater emphasis on eco (tourism) and giving greater exposure to the mainland’s attraction,” he added.

“Public feedback also has a bearing on our final selection of listings,” he clarified.

In another development, it is reported that Law has denied ignoring Loh, but told the media that the latter has visited his office to “scold his staff”.

Law has also said the toy museum would be included in the state’s new tourism map which would be printed at the end of the year.