Do Have some humility for the majority of Silibin residents. Many residents have not heard of the late Patto (who had no connection with Silibin area) and never even held his ceramah in Silibin and did not play much of a role in the development of Silibin.

Expressing unhappiness over the suggestion, Ipoh Ratepayers and Taxpayers Association deputy president Victor Sankey said the association had been receiving uncomplimentary feedback that the people here were against the state government’s proposal to rename Jalan Silibin to Jalan Patto.

Ipoh Barat MP and local councillor M. Kulasegaran was reported as saying that a street survey revealed more than 70% of the people interviewed agreed with the renaming of Jalan Silibin. It would have been more authoritative if the ‘survey’ was done by an independent body and

I fully appreciate DAP recognising the vast contributions of the late Patto, I don’t see why they should choose Jalan Silibin which has been in existence for more than five decades. we need to preserve and not erase, our history!

Silibin residents and others in Ipoh and outside and even from abroad have expressed their reservations. The business people are especially unhappy at the cost of changing their identity card addresses, name cards, business sign boards and possible lost of a brand value.

Others are local residents and history buffs who are unhappy at what they say is a landmark name disappearing from the map. Some are concerned their childhood memory of living in Silibin is under threat.

If at all the DAP feels he should be honoured, by all means spruce up the roundabout at Jalan Silibin, linking Jelapang, the Ipoh-Lumut highway and Taman Rishah and rename this roundabout as Bulatan P. Patto. Or build a new multipurpose community hall for the residents of Buntong and Silibin and name it after him. In short, to create a win-win situation and to recognise the sacrifices and contributions of the late Patto, he should be honoured not by renaming a well known road but by naming a new school or a library after him. Or simply take a look at other roads.

Silibin has a place in every Ipoh resident’s heart and local history would suffer if Jalan Silibin is renamed.

Tonberry, it was exactly seven years ago when the DAP made a big hue and cry over the Ipoh city council renaming Jalan Koo Chong Kong to Jalan Tabung Haji.

Uncle Lim was apparently so upset that he called upon Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohd Tajol Rosli Ghazali to sack the whole city council for committing the ultimate Malaysian offence.

“The menteri besar should dissolve the Ipoh city council – as a lesson to all city, municipal and district councillors to guard against the ultimate Malaysian offence of total insensitivity and lack of pride and respect for Malaysian history and the country’s multiracial heritage,” he said.

Following protests from numerous quarters, the city council buckled under pressure and subsequently reinstated the original name after a few days.

The road was named after Tan Sri Koo Chong Kong who was appointed Perak police chief in 1975 to quell the communist threat in the state. He was shot dead in his car by two terrorists while on his way home on Nov 13, 1975 and was accorded a hero’s funeral in Seremban attended by 20,000 people, including Prime Minister Tun Abdul Razak Hussein.

Hill Road between the city police headquarters and the newly-built Tabung Haji building was renamed after him in 1985 to acknowledge his contribution and sacrifice.

Since early this month, the same scenario is slowly taking shape but this time around it is the DAP that is pushing to rename Jalan Silibin after the former DAP state party chairman P. Patto.

This has not gone down well with the residents and business community there who viewed the party as trying to bulldoze its way through despite DAP representatives producing a street survey claiming that more than 70 per cent of Jalan Silibin folks agreed with the proposal – should have been conducted by an independent body and within the wider Ipoh area if you ask me.

As protests from the various quarters grew, the Pakatan state government finally relented and said that it would hear the people’s views first before deciding on the matter. Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin has already agreed in principle to honour the late Patto by renaming one of the roads in Little India.

State DAP leaders, however, seemed reluctant to accept Nizar’s offer, perhaps due to the prominence, or the lack of it, of the road in question. “Nizar has offered to rename Lorong Lahat after Patto and I think the DAP leaders are not going to agree as they want something more prominent for him,” said a source.

With the state government planning to hold a forum on this issue, a community leader noted that while Patto might deserve to be honoured, subjecting his name to public discussion and possible ridicule should be avoided at all costs. He said that placing a monument at the roundabout at Jalan Silibin would be more meaningful than renaming the road which has now become a controversy.

This might seem the rational way to solve the problem and save the state government from being accused of being under the thumb of the DAP. As the state chief executive officer, Nizar must put his foot down and resolve the matter once and for all.

After all, he has made the DAP an offer and should not be seen acceding to their whims and fancies.

Former Datuk Bandar Datuk Talaat Husain, moments after putting back the “Jalan Koo Chong Kong” signboard in 2001, humbly said: “It was an oversight on our part…we are now aware of the sensitivity involved and we didn’t have any intention to offend anyone.”

Is the Pakatan Rakyat state government willing to do the same?

AhPek, copying and pasting alternative propaganda reflects your desperation. Perhaps it would be condusive to keep your questions short, so as to give others an opportunity to counter your views and perceptions on racial history.

Regards.