Chaotic scenes as crowd rushes Ku Nan for ang pow packets

Crowds jostle to take ang pow packets from Federal Territories Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Carmel Dominic, February 22, 2016.

Federal Territories Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor’s Chinese New Year open house event at Dataran Kuala Lumpur today ended in chaotic scenes as the crowd rushed the minister for RM20 ang pow packets.

The crowd, which at its peak was an estimated 5,000 strong, began to jostle one another in their bid to take the ang pows on offer. People were pushed out of the way and fell, despite Kuala Lumpur City Hall officers trying to maintain some semblance of order.

Many of those shoved to the ground were senior citizens but their plight did not have an effect on the rush.

Some people were even seen running back to the crush for a second packet after having collected their first.

Deputy Federal Territories Minister Datuk Dr Loga Balan Mohan said that the ang pows were paid for from the minister’s own pocket, costing an estimated RM140,000.

“The total cost of the celebrations today was about RM200,000 but the ang pows were from the minister. Each ang pow contained RM20,” he said.

During the event, which also celebrated the last day of Chinese Lunar New Year, known locally as Chap Goh Meh, saw some very colourful cultural performances, including lion dances and Wushu demonstrations.

“We are not a perfect government but for 58 years we have served the people and we strive to continue to do that. Don’t just judge the government for mistakes, consider the things that we have done right in the past as well,” Loga said.

- TMI