The National 2007 Chinese Open House, to be held in Malacca this Sunday, will be special. So special that there will be no lion dances, considered by many as an essential fixture in any Chinese New Year celebration.

That was according to Oriental Daily , which reported today that the organisers of the event - the Culture, Arts and Heritage Ministry - had suggested for the lion dancers to don Malay costumes during the performance.

The daily said the 'lion dance in baju Melayu' proposal was swiftly rejected by the performers. After a heated discussion, the organisers apparently backed down and agreed to let the dancers wear their own gears.

Deputy Minister of Arts, Culture and Heritage Wong Kam Hoong was quick to deny that the report.

Wong today said that there would be lion dance performances at the gala event, which will be officiated by the Yang di Pertuan Agung in Malacca's Hang Tuah Mall.

The deputy minister said that 70 percent of the programme will comprise of Chinese traditional performances. "Only 30 percent are performances by other ethnic groups."

When contacted, a member of the Malacca Lion Dance Association confirmed that the 'lion dance in baju Melayu' proposal was made at the said meeting with the event organisers.

However, he declined to offer additional details.

According to the performers, the initial plan was for 1,000 lion dancers but this was slashed to 50 due to budgetary constraints.

Minister comes under fire

Meanwhile, DAP leader Lim Guan Eng took the minister in charge to task.

He urged Culture, Arts And Heritage Minister Dr Rais Yatim to "correct this grave omission and show respect for Chinese cultural tradition and customs by including its cultural characteristics."

"Such omission is a serious error that has hurt the sensitivities and slighted the feelings of the Chinese community as an act of insincerity in properly welcoming Chinese New Year. Such a celebration is weird as this is definitely not how Chinese New Year is celebrated in Malaysia," he wrote in an email sent to Rais.

Lim said that there are "neither Chinese characters nor Chinese cultural performances such as lion dance listed as part of the official programme".

According to him, the only performance listed in the official programme were Tarian Joget Malaysia, a parade, the singing of 'Budi Bahasa Budaya Kita' song and a fireworks display.

"Are Chinese cultural performances not appropriate enough to be watched by our King? The Chinese community can see no reason why lion dances cannot be performed before the King as part of the official programme when this is Chinese New Year.

"If Chinese cultural performances are deemed as unfit to be part of the official programme, then the government should stop such pretence of respecting the diverse cultures and races by correcting our tourism advertisements."