MCA president Dr Chua Soi Lek is prepared to consider accepting the Kedah Parti Keadilan Rakyat’s (PKR) invitation to officially open the 1Malaysia Chinese New Year celebration next month if he receives an official letter from the state government.

However, he said the agreement depended on the condition set by the organisers of the programme including the guideline on the stage show which had become a hot issue in the state in the past few days.

Chua said if the guideline was fair to the Chinese community, he was prepared to officially start the celebration.

“I have not received the official invitation letter from the relevant party. I want to see the letter first before giving any feedback because I cannot officially open an event that places many restrictions and unfair conditions to the non-Muslims,” he told reporters after attending the Hong Hu Tong Temple Charity programme in Malacca.

The programme, which was officially launched by Malacca Chief Minister Mohd Ali Rustam, was also attended by state MCA chairpeson Gan Tian Loo, who is also the chairperson of the state Education, Youth and Sports Committee.

He said this when asked to comment on the statement in a pro-opposition portal made by Kedah exco member Lim Soo Nee, who is also the state assemblyperson for Kulim, inviting Chua and other MCA leaders to attend the Chinese New Year celebration organised by the state PKR.

Yesterday, the portal also reported a statement by Lim that the celebration was to prove to the MCA that shows featuring adult women were allowed in the state.

Meanwhile in ALOR SETAR, the Kedah Gerakan Youth head, Tan Keng Liang, said the Kedah government must make a detailed clarification on the guideline on the ‘1Malaysia Chinese New Year 2013' celebration.

Tan said the Kedah Gerakan Youth had no objection on the guideline stipulated on the proper attire to be worn but guidelines on female singers, live band music and also religious songs must be explained in more detail.

Previously on Jan 9, a guideline was issued by a member of the Kedah state executive council concerning the attire, songs and dances that would be allowed for stage shows.

Tan urged the state government to revoke all the guidelines for activities organised by the non-Muslims except for the guideline on the proper attire to be worn.

- Bernama