Penang govt awaits explanation from developer on the lighting issue
The Penang government is still awaiting a report from the state secretary’s office over the lighting issue at an apartment building in Jelutong which allegedly portrayed the image of a “cross”.
Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said the residential project had yet to acquire a certificate of completion and compliance (CCC) and that the developer was currently testing the facilities, including the lighting system.
“We have yet to get an explanation from the developer on why the lights were lit up in such a manner, but in the next picture when more lights were switched on, it shows a normal view or facade.
“I believe this is not a place of worship or church, but an apartment building,” he told reporters after opening the “Evolve Final Year 2019” exhibition organised by KDU Penang University College here today.
However, he reminded all parties to respect the sensitivities of others.
Recently, the image of an apartment building in Jelutong which featured a huge cross sign made up of lights at the building caused displeasure among some residents in the nearby area.
It is understood that they have also lodged a police report on the matter.
Yesterday, Penang Mufti Wan Salim Wan Mohd Noor, in a statement, urged the local authorities to direct the developer of the housing project to change the position of the lights in the building so that they do not form the sign of a cross.
Chow said he did not feel it was something done deliberately to hurt people’s feelings, but rather described it as part of the “built environment” in the country.
A built environment refers to human-made surroundings that provide the setting for human activity, ranging in scale from buildings to parks.
Source: Free Malaysia Today
Whether intentional or not, as long as there is a complain (and a valid one in this case), it should be promptly rectified. I am not a muslim, but a really find this unneccessary and repulsive. A total waste of time.
@BigSausage
I find “crosses” in other apartments as well. you can find one in bukit tengah. seems like a design issue (where the stairwell is placed in the middle ) more than anything else….BTW..do we need to start investigate all traffic junction all over Penang..?
This is funny.. i was struggling to see why this is offensive.. whoever is disturbed by this should probably eliminate all instances of the letter ‘t’ or plus symbols all over the island. But seriously – there are much better things to do like help the poor and needy.
@Oh nice
Nope, no need investigation for traffic junction, as it is not perpendicularly within our line of sight clearly outlined by LEDs, therefore it would be “extremism” if someone raises it as a religion issue. Common sense. Again, I do not know if it is intentional or not, but simply to save everyone’s precious time, just get rid of it. There are more pressing issues to tackle, like our economy, which is in a shit dump right now.
@seriously?
If you get rid of plus symbol or letter ‘t’, you won’t be able to to maths and english properly, and that becomes very impractical, knowledge acquisition will be difficult. Again, if that happens, it will be extremism. Does it cause any difficulty in acquiring knowledge if we get rid of that cross-like light in that apartment? If not, why make others uncomfortable? And if we don’t rectify this, it will set a very bad precedent.
By the way, if I have an indian neighbour staying opposite my house placing a big god statue facing me, I will be very uncomfortable, maybe to the extend of moving. If I have a chinese neighbor opposite me using the house as a mini temple having weekly trance (khi tang) sessions, I will report to the police why they allow that in a residential neighbourhood.
Am I chinese indian, malay? Does not matter. Am I christian, muslim, buddhist, taoist? Doesn’t matter. Cheers!
@seriously?
true, there is a bunch very funny people on earth….only until when they create havoc to other peace loving people..unfortunately there are “righteous” people who think we should accommodate the wishes of these trouble maker..
More on the cross here..fully lit up, it is a Chinese character for royal..possibly equally sensitive to these people.
https://www.themalaysianinsight.com/s/125757
As a Muslim, I think it is OK to has a cross, regardless of the size, as long as it is a Church.
i don’t mind cross and i don’t mind where it is placed. only hypersensitive and insecure being will panic..
Seriously, in a liberal society, this should not be an issue to all regions. Whether Malaysia is a Muslim country or not, this act should not be treated as offensive or hurting people feeling. Malaysia Baru promotes respect and believe that racial harmony could be achieve by equality. This act does not belittle Islam as Malaysia #1 Religion but Muslim need to learn how to respect other religion as well since the lighting does not mean promo other religion or sign of sensitive issue. This society needs leaders to stand up and the Malay Rulers need to come out to defend our Rakyat Malaysia from those politicize this matter
@Optimus
You’re contradicting yourself. You said ” Malaysia Baru promotes respect and believe that racial harmony could be achieve by equality. This act does not belittle Islam as Malaysia #1 Religion” ??????
You can’t have “equality” if you still have “#1”, #2 #3 etc, because 1≠2≠3. Simple kindergarten maths, you never go to school meh???.
Why you need leaders and rulers to defend what rakyat???? You think too much already lah. This is small matter only lah. No harm done asking the developer to rectify that light thingy, so that architects and developers will be mindful of what they design, otherwise next time you’ll have images of “Tua Pek Kong” or “Summo Kong” on big LCD screens of buildings already.
it is just a small matter that being amplified by certain parties with their own silly agenda.
If you see things in a sensitive way, you will able to see a lot of things that is out of norm.
And yeah, respecting each other is the way to move forward for NEW Malaysia.