BN says Guan Eng invited as VVIP to open house

GEORGE TOWN, Feb 7 —Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng has been invited as one of the guests of honour at the Barisan Nasional (BN) Chinese New Year open house, state BN Youth chief Oh Tong Keong said today.

“We have left a space for him to sit next to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, so he will be a VVIP of the event too,” he said.

Lim has been given a seat next to the prime minister.

The much-talked about Chinese New Year event will be held on February 11 on the grounds of Han Chiang school, the very spot where Pakatan Rakyat’s mammoth rally was held in 2008 that eventually led to the coalition winning over the state.

The main draw of the event is the appearance of K-pop sensation Psy, who is slotted to perform his highly popular song “Oppa Gangnam Style” alongside with local celebrity Shila Hamzah.

The song debuted on the YouTube video-sharing site in July 2012 and has racked up at least 1.29 billion views. World leaders from US President Barack Obama to UN secretary-general Ban Ki-Moon have followed the singer in his horse-style dance performed in the video.

Oh said the whole event is open to everyone and all of Penang’s 40 state assemblyman and 13 MPs are also invited to the event.

“The event is free; there are no ticket sales and Psy is expected to perform two songs,” he said.

The event will start at 9.30am and Najib is expected to arrive at 10.45am while Psy will be performing at noon.

“We also have other activities lined up such as line dancing, chingay and lion dance performances,” Oh said.

The event is expected to draw more than 80,000 people, a figure that has gone up from the earlier estimated 60,000.

“We are expecting a bigger crowd now since this is the first time Psy is coming to Malaysia so tourists may even come,” he said, adding that free food will be also be served.

Lim had also encouraged everyone to attend the event for the free show and free food, urging them to wear yellow, green and red.