Celebrating CNY with Sungai Long community

“Let’s get 亥 (High)” Chinese New Year (CNY) Carnival 2019 was held on 20 January 2019 at UTAR Sungai Long Campus. It was organised by the Student Representative Council (SRC) of UTAR.

Present at the opening ceremony were Deputy Minister of International Trade and Industry Representative Law Wen Siang, UTAR President Ir Prof Academician Dato’ Dr Chuah Hean Teik, UTAR Vice President for Student Development and Alumni Relations Prof Dr Choong Chee Keong, Nirvana Asia Group Representative Dr Foo Choon Yee, Calligraphy Society Malaysia Chairman Wong Ho, Organising Chairperson of Chinese New Year Carnival 2019 Chuah Pei Lim, UTAR staff and students as well as Bandar Sungai Long community.

Law delivering his speech

Law explained the importance of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and encouraged students to be well prepared for it. He then expressed his appreciation to the local stores in Sungai Long for their generous sponsorship which contributed to the success of the event. The Ministry of International Trade and Industry also donated RM5,000 to the carnival.

Prof Chuah giving his speech

Prof Chuah expressed his gratitude to the sponsors for their kind sponsorship and said, “2019 is the year of the Pig. This is why “Let’s get 亥 (high)” is the theme of the Carnival this year. The Chinese word “亥” indicates the Year of the Pig. It has the same pronunciation with the English word “high”, signifying a celebration that brings joy and happiness. This is indeed a joyous day filled with music, food, fun games, performances and colourful decorations. I applaud the SRC for your creativity and arduous efforts in organising this CNY carnival. I admire your teamwork, beautiful decorations and well-planned events to make this carnival a success for everyone to enjoy, not only the Chinese community but also other races in Sungai Long community. This carnival showcases the uniqueness of the Chinese traditional culture and creates a lively atmosphere of CNY at UTAR Sungai Long Campus.” Prof Chuah also wished the participants a blessed New Year ahead.

Chuah expressing his gratitude to sponsors and organising committee

Chuah too expressed his gratitude to the organising committee and sponsors for making the event a success. He said, “This is the third year of organising such similar event and fortunately, the preparation for the event went smoothly in the past few months with the support of sponsors and effort of committee members.”

From left: Chuah, Prof Choong, Prof Chuah, Wong, Law, Dr Foo and Loh at the opening ceremony

Participants during Chinese Calligraphy Competition

Winners of Chinese Calligraphy Competition for primary school category

Winners of Chinese Calligraphy Competition for secondary school category

Winner of Chinese Calligraphy Competition for public category 

A Chinese Calligraphy Competition was also held in conjunction with the carnival. There were three categories for the competition, namely primary school category, secondary school category and public category. 

 Sungai Long residence having a good time at the carnival

Performance by USLCO

Performance by Ustar Huah Jing Ying

Wushu performance by UTAR Wushu Club

Drama performance by UTAR Drama Club

An astounding magic performance for the audience

Feng Shui reading during Interaction Session

From top to bottm: Artists Madison Lau, Haoren Choo and Pong Pong 

Spectacular 24 Festives Drums performance by UTAR Wushu Club

UTAR Dance Club performing K-pop (left) and traditional dance (right)

Crosstalk, a traditional Chinese comedic performance by UCSI University students

The carnival aimed to provide a homely platform for UTAR students to celebrate CNY, promote Chinese traditional culture and create an atmosphere of CNY at Sungai Long area. Various interesting performances were held simultaneously with the carnival such as performances by UTAR Wushu Club, UTAR Sungai Long Chinese Orchestra, Chinese Yoyo, UTAR Drama Club and Ustar. The event also saw performances by local artists such as Madison Lau, Haoren Choo and Pong Pong.

Present at the closing ceremony were Deputy Minister of Water, Land and Natural Resources Representative Choong Siew Onn, UTAR Vice President for Student Development and Alumni Relations Prof Dr Choong Chee Keong, Sungai Long Campus Department of Student Affairs Head Loh Nyuk Leung, Chinese New Year Carnival 2019 Vice Chairperson Neo Chee Hoe, UTAR staff and students as well as Bandar Sungai Long community.

Choong delivering his speech at the closing ceremony

Choong explained the real meaning of celebrating CNY which is to go back home. He said, “The Chinese character “回” means back. It is consists of two squares; the bigger square represents home while the smaller square represents family members as well as unity. The celebration of Chinese New Year is a reminder to us to review ourselves from last year and find the means to improve ourselves this year.” Choong also motivated the participants to set themselves a goal for this year.

Neo expressing his hope for the younger generation to continue the Chinese tradition

“Chinese New Year is one of the major festivals celebrated by Malaysians. However, the atmosphere of Chinese New year celebration is getting weaker each year. Therefore, this carnival was meant to help the community to bring back the atmosphere of celebrating Chinese New Year like how we did during our childhood. On top of that, we could also use this event to promote the Chinese culture,” said Neo.

Prof Choong presenting the token of appreciation to Choong (right) while Neo looks on



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