More than a thousand devotees and well-wishers thronged the newly opened Phor Tay High School hall for the celebration of New Spring festival organized by Than Hsiang Temple and several northern region Buddhist organizations. It was a scene of bustle and excitement.

Led by the abbot of Than Hsiang Temple, Ven. Wei Wu, all the participants clasped their hands and chant along for the blessing of all sentient beings, followed by the lamp lighting ceremony for peace and prosperity.

“It is the law of “Karma”—dictating the cause and effect--- that brought us together in this hall, and under the able leadership of the late Tan Sri Tan Hooi Yam in appealing for public support amidst overcoming numerous problems/obstacles, the successful completion of the school complex is now a reality. Ven. pointed out.”

Meanwhile, we are also grateful for the support and cooperation of the previous as well as the present state government that had contributed greatly to the smooth progress and completion of the building project.

Though we did also face obstacles during the course of the project, nevertheless, we had gained valuable experience from the hindsight.

Being the chairman of the school board and the Building committee, Ven. highlighted the urgent need of national types high school to cater for the numerous national type primary schools in the South West District of the island. The parents in particular are grateful as the presence of the school has saved hours of traveling time and stress of students while plying between their homes and schools located mainly in the North East District.

Ven. also mentioned that during the negotiation stage for the building site with the trustee and management of the Silver Jubilee Home, the concept of mutual interaction between the students and senior citizens of the Home to promote caring services was proposed and discussed.

A number of Northern Region Buddhist organizations, among which namely Than Hsiang Temple, SMJK Phor Tay, YBAM liaison Committee and Seberang Perai Buddhist Association jointly organized the Buddhist 2009 Chinese New Year Celebration. Certificates of appreciations were awarded to the various charitable organizations and individuals who had help in one way or another during the fund raising campaign. The event also saw the exciting presentation of entertainment programmes, which included songs by individuals and choir groups, cultural and line dances, Chinese musical instrument performance, and acrobatic display.

Among the numerous VIPs who attended the event were: YB Datuk Teng Hock Nam, Datuk & Datin Peter Ooi, YB Yeoh Soon Hin, YB Jeffey Ooi, YB Raveenthran, Mr. Loh Lam Hooi, Mr. Tan Beng Hwa and the HM of Phor Tay school, Mr. Lai Boon Siong.