MBKS mayor: Video of CNY dinner mayhem misleading

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A combination photo from a smartphone screen grab shows people anxiously waiting to collect food packs, with the table still upright (top) and what happened after the food table collapsed (bottom).

Dato James Chan

KUCHING: The video that went viral, showing chaotic moments at the MBKS Chinese New Year open house on Friday night, was not a true reflection of what happened on the ground, said mayor of Kuching South City Council, Dato James Chan.

He asserted that if one looked attentively at the recording, it was not people fighting over food but due to an unfortunate ‘trigger’ – someone tripped and caused the table where food packs were kept, to collapse, he said.

“People were all waiting for the food, and it was not chaos like what the video showed. Someone tripped and then people started crushing in. It was just an unfortunate incident but actually nothing happened.

“Because of the unfortunate incident, all the food went down and people rushed in. If you see the video properly, it is nothing of this sort (fighting) and nobody got hurt,” he said when contacted yesterday.

Chan, who was also organising chairman for the festive event, said the council did not expect such a huge crowd, adding: “It is not easy to organise such a big event but it was a success.”

He opined that the person who posted the video on the Internet ought to think twice before doing so. He said the visual clip had painted an image of Kuchingites being uncouth.

“I don’t think people want to behave like that. As people of Kuching, you should not spoil the image of your city by showing that type of thing.”

Chan pointed out it was not fair for netizens to pass judgment based on the video clip, as he insisted the recording did not reflect the actual incident.

“Of course, people can comment on Facebook and say anything they want. To me, MBKS organised the gathering for the people of Kuching and a different strata of income joined us.

“It was a nice event and I think everybody went back happy.”

Despite the unceremonious episode, Chan said MBKS would look into measures to avoid a recurrence.

After Friday’s open house, a netizen posted a two-minute video on the incident, first showing Rela personnel guarding the food table while the crowd was heard roaring, seemingly impatient.

Just as personnel in-charge started distributing food packs, the table abruptly fell apart amidst people squeezing in, showing ‘chaos’.

In between the clip, a couple of hands were also seen throwing food packs into the crowd.