More power to koe-tai

Gulp ... guess it's time to defend a PKR pollie again, wakakaka.

For previous kaytee's defence of PKR, please read:

(a) my Malaysiakini letter Dalai Lama shakes hands, Anwar Ibrahim dances, and

(b) my previous posts I support Elizabeth Wong; I deplore Khir Toyo's cynical politics, Police at it again with draconian intimidation of bloggers and To PM AAB - Please free Nathaniel Tan

Today I wish to defend PKR Kedah state executive councillor Lim Soo Nee - for full story on why my defence of Lim is necessary, please refer to The Star Online article CNY dance event backfires, wakakaka.

But let's start off with what a koe-tai (sometimes spelt as ko-tai) is.

Koe-tai is not a traditional Chinese New Year (CNY) event but has in its Malaysian way grown popular in the last 30 years or so, particularly in Penang and to an extent Kedah. Thus in relative terms, it may be considered as a modern creation, and probably home grown in Malaysia.

Koe tai is basically a variety show staged in public, usually in conjunction with some Chinese celebrations, where its performance would be a medley of singing, dancing, humorous (and sometimes saucy) dialogues and short comical sketches.

The show would be performed on a temporarily erected stage a la those for Teochew operas at public places like village centres such as markets and the compounds of kongsi (Chinese associations, clubs, etc). In recent years some have been staged inside buildings which have auditoriums, theatres or sports stadiums.

If one wants to be snobbish, it's a variety show more for Chinese in villages and not for bananas like kaytee, though from time to time I did attend such shows with my mates. 

One of the complaints about koe tai, usually from Muslim organizations and a few Muslim residents, has been about female performers wearing clothing not in accordance with what the Muslims see as 'decent'.

But koe tai has never been meant for Muslims and if we want to be brutally frank, not for non-Chinese as the performers are Chinese and the show's dialogue and songs would be in Chinese (Mandarin, Hokkien and sometimes Cantonese), though I have to confess my Indian and Malay mateys in Penang have thoroughly enjoyed the shows and are confirmed supporters, wakakaka.

So what might have been considered indecent by some Muslims would not necessarily be an opinion shared by non-Muslims. We have witnessed humongous differences on such views regarding concerts by international stars, even leading to sweetie Beyonce not daring to come to our shores, and the attempted or pressured blocking of performances by sweetie Inul Daratista.

Inul Daratista

This brings us to gasp gawd omigosh the PKR man I wish to defend today, namely poor besieged Lim Soo Nee.

Lim organized a CNY koe tai shindig in Kulim, presumably as a two-finger salute to PAS' recent moralistic intrusions into non-Muslim lives. Like many Chinese I believe he must have been deeply offended by the affront of the PAS-led Kedah government to impose dress codes for events associated with non-Muslim CNY celebrations, an unwelcome sinister intrusion into non-Muslim affairs.

Lim Soo Nee (PKR)

The Star Online reported that the event was deemed too “racy” by even the DAP, leave alone PAS leaders in the state.

Three women, with their backs, legs and bellies exposed, took turns to perform on stage for about three hours. They wore “bikini-like” tops with short skirts and moved suggestively to hot numbers such as Gangnam Style.

Local Chinese community leaders slammed Lim, who is the Kulim assemblyman, for putting up such a show and linking it to Chinese culture.

Listen, listen, listen Bullshit, bullshit and bullshit!

1st bullshit - what did The Star Online mean by "... the event was deemed too 'racy' by even the DAP, leave alone PAS leaders in the state." 

I ask because the DAP, as far as I know them, have always been a strait-laced group of puritanical prudish people, thus it's hardly surprising that they would have considered sweeties on koe tai performance as 'racy', wakakaka. It's a no-brainer by The Star reporter, thus such a statement doesn't count.

2nd bullshit - WTF did The Star mean by those sweeties moving 'suggestively'? The reporter has moved unwittingly or/and dangerously into PAS territory.

When dancing to numbers such as, for example Latin American music, one doesn't exactly goose step like those North Korean military sweeties.

suggestive? what about their aurat? wakakaka

3rd bullshit - every Chinese (at least those in North-West Malaysia) knows that koe tai is not traditional Chinese culture but has become popular in recent years, as have western dances, songs, rap (a la Namawee or Psy or Chinese -American MC Jin who's also known in Hong Kong TV soaps as Jin Au-Yeung), and the western white bridal gowns.

American rapper MC Jin & also HK TV star Jin Au-Yeung 

And if those female performers in Kulim wore bikini-like tops with short skirts which exposed their legs, backs and bellies, so what! I do not consider such dressing as indecent, unless we want to go by PAS standards where women must be dressed in potato sacks, or unless you have a highly naughty imaginative mind (like one old man fascinated with bra cups and who I had the misfortune of coming across in my blog - thank goodness he's no more, wakakaka).

I defend the koe tai show in its current form and I trust Lim Soo Nee would not back down.

Now, let's go back a couple of years to January 2011, to a pro-BN function in Tenang themed as 'Majlis Mesra 1Malaysia' and organized by local businessman Lee Cheng Chuan, a function which included a koe tai, wakakaka.

Malaysiakini's Anwar targeted as sexy dancers jazz up pro-BN bash reported on 18 January 2011:

Over 1,000 Tenang constituents were treated to a sumptuous dinner last night with free beer, sexy dance performance and a lucky draw, featuring a 100cc motorcycle as the grand prize.

BN's koe tai with beer, broads and bull
wakakaka, wish I was there

The pro-BN 1Malaysia dinner also featured a fiery speech by former Umno vice-president Mohd Isa Abdul Samad, who had made his political comeback by winning the Bagan Pinang by-election in 2009.

Apart from guest of honour Mohd Isa, those who attended include MCA Labis MP Chua Tee Yong, Johor BN ADUNs Tan Kok Hong (Bekok), Lau Chin Hoon (Pemanis), Lee Hong Tee (Jementah) and Ayub Rahmat (Kemerlah).

Chua Tee Yong - his dad CSL is better known

That's fine as Malaysia is supposedly a democratic world and I too don't mind an occasional koe tai or two, but then, returning back to the recent Kulim PKR-organized koe tai, it must be either cherry-picking short memory or sheer hypocrisy on the part of Kedah State MCA chief Chong Itt Chew when he could even bring himself to say pompously that he would leave it to the PKR and its partners to “dwell on the performance”.

And Penang politicians, bloody take note, the koe tai is something Penangites (and undoubtedly Chinese Kedahans) want - don't believe me, read The Star People want sexy singers for Hungry Ghost Festival.

So pordah MCA, and Viva Lim Soo Nee - more koe tai is needed, especially in Kedah, wakakaka.