Extracted from NST 4 March 2010

Chinese affair, multi-racial celebration

The Malays spoke in fluent Mandarin and the Indians performed the Chinese fan dance. Peggy Loh is heartened to see the spirit of 1Malaysia alive and well at SMK Seri Perling

The girls impress with their decorative lanterns made of ang pow packets.

Liew Mei Sien (centre) and friends share their knowledge of the traditional Chinese New Year festive food and what each item symbolises. — Pictures by Peggy Loh

(From left) Mohd Qayum Ali Faisal, Termit Singh, Mariam Maheran Mohd Yazid and Najihah Ab Hafith prepare ‘tang yuan’.

FROM as early as 7am, students began starting up stalls to showcase a range of Chinese craft and arts for the Lunar New Year.

Chinese calligraphy, Chinese chess, paper lanterns, decorative knots and paper cuttings -- the school hall was filled with stalls offfering demonstrations and displays aimed at promoting Chinese culture and greater harmony among the multi-racial students.

The special showcase marked the close of the month-long celebration at SMK Seri Perling in Johor Baru.
 

Even the Chinese participants found that they could learn a thing or too at the event.

Teacher Soh Ka Hwee learnt that traditional lion dances must always be performed by a pair of lions, and never one.

Soh, who has been with the school for 15 years, said this was the first time the school was holding a Chinese culture month. It will be followed by a Malay culture month in April and an Indian culture month in June.



Form Four students Ho Ze Cien, nicknamed Moon because she was born in the Mooncake Festival, and Sunny Pang Jun Sheng, picked up the traditional game of Chinese riddles from teacher, Ch'ng Chin Hock.

They put their heads together to create a string of riddles with prizes for those with the correct answer.

A similar set of riddles in Bahasa Malaysia was also available for everybody to be able to enjoy the game.

Liew Mei Sien, 16, and her friends, Pang Jing Wen, Ong Chia Yee, Tan Meng Li and Lee Saw Teng did research on the Internet about the traditional Chinese New Year food before putting up the items on display.

The exercise helped them to better understand the significance of the food enjoyed during the Chinese New Year.

Armed with knowledge, they even produced a leaflet with information and pictures on the subject.

At a separate stall, several students had a live cooking station to prepare tang yuan, glutinous rice balls which round shapes symbolises the family reunion.

Mariah Maheran Mohd Yazid and Najihah Ab Hafith said they learnt the recipe from Soh and were quite confident they could cook the dessert for their parents to enjoy at home.

Termit Singh and Mohd Qayum Ali Faishal also lent a hand in cooking the delightful dessert.

To address the visitors made up of guests, teachers and students, the hosts spoke in Bahasa Malaysian Mandarin and English, impressing the listeners with their linguistic versatility.

Students Mohd Hazlan Abdul Nasir and Suriyan Ulakanathan spoke eloquently in Mandarin while Eng Cheng Yin conversed fluently in Bahasa Malaysia, showing that the foundation for 1Malaysia was well and truly established in the school.

The programme included a multi-racial choir of students who sang popular Lunar New Year favourites, with the audience enthusiastically joining in the choruses.

Tai chi and wushu demonstrations followed, and the Chinese music intrument, the guzheng was also played.

One of the most captivating performances must be the skillful juggling of Chinese yoyos by Shahir Faris Ikram Shahrul Zaman, who thrilled the audience with his clever and creative display.

The 16-year-old said he learnt to play the Chinese yoyo in SK Foon Yew II, where he spent his primary school years.



Six 16 year-old girls including Prihyayini Ryoganathan and Nur An Umillah Abdul Kadir, learned the Chinese fan dance from teacher Tan Hwee Eng.

Prihyayini, who has some classical Indian dance experience, discovered several differences between the Indian and Chinese dances, such as how the Indian dancers bend their knees while the Chinese don't.

She also noted that Indian dancers placed their palms face up on the shoulders, and the Chinese their palms down.

Traditional Chinese customs and taboos were shared through a simple sketch depicting scenes from a typical reunion dinner.

In the comical but clear illustration, the audience learnt about the etiquette youngsters must observe in their interaction with their elders and guests.

The half-day event was graced by Ahmad Taufik Hamzah, the deputy district education officer-in-charge of student affairs, who expressed his pleasure at seeing the races happily intermingling.

In February, each class took part in a contest to decorate their classroom in the Chinese theme. The top three prizes went to Form 5 S1, Form 5 K1 and Form 5 K2, respectively.

It was headmistress Maimon Idris's idea to hold a series of month-long cultural celebrations for each race group.