Not vested
Malaysian bank's lavish party sparks ridicule
KUALA LUMPUR: An extravagant party by a privately-owned Malaysian bank for its ageing founder has sparked ridicule online, with some comparing it to the type of event held in North Korea to praise leader Kim Jong Il.
A videoclip of the July 23 event to mark Public Bank's 45th anniversary and honour chairman Teh Hong Piow, 81, began circulating online this week.
It shows hundreds of bank staff, singers and dancers waving small flags in a banquet hall to welcome Tan Sri Teh.
Ranked Malaysia's third-wealthiest person by Forbes magazine, he arrived waving from a pick-up truck flanked by motorcycle outriders, as the crowd sang: 'Man of honour, a living legend. Let's rise up now and sing out loud.'
Performers later stretched out their arms, as if worshipping him.
The extravaganza was savaged by Malaysian users of Twitter and bloggers.
'Malaysia's latest religious cult: Public Bank. Kim Jong Il would be jealous,' tweeted MP Khairy Jamaluddin, youth wing chief of the United Malays National Organisation, the country's dominant political party.
One blogger said Mr Teh should have used bank assets to help the community instead: 'Big sigh, what a waste. Surely, he would go down in history better if he would dish out all that money for some decent community work instead," the blogger said.
Teh founded the publicly-listed bank -- which is now the country's third-largest in terms of assets -- in 1966 and has received numerous awards over the years as one of Malaysia's top bankers.
Forbes has estimated his personal wealth at $3 billion (S$3.6 billion).
http://news.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne%2B ... 95367.html