Penang Hokkien Podcast

This is a recommendation for Penangites overseas who miss Penang Hokkien: Penang Hokkien Podcast 檳城福建

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Preview: ((( Penang Hokkien Promo)))

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Penangite in US starts Hokkien podcast
By CHOONG KWEE KIM

PENANG: The "beautiful and witty" Hokkien dialect has inspired a Penangite living in the United States to start a Penang Hokkien podcast that has got Malaysians around the world sharing jokes and stories in Hokkien.

Some regular guests of John Ong's show at the podcast, which can be accessed at http://penanghokkien.com, even go online together at an appointed time to record spontaneous conversations.

Topics covered so far included the tsunami, the Penang bus system, ghost stories like si lor ban, embarrassing stories, Penang food, the Hungry Ghost Festival, swear words and cheating in school examinations, among other things.

The participants go by such funny nicknames as Beh Ki Beh Lok (can't go up or down), Ang Ku Kueh (red tortoise buns) and Hiao Lok (slut) while the creator's moniker is Miku (red buns) John.

Listening to the show is akin to "eavesdropping on a conversation at the next table in a restaurant", said Ong, a motion graphic designer based in Kansas City, Missouri.

Ong said he was managing a podcast called Ongline Podcast since October 2004, until a funny phone conversation in Hokkien with KE, a high school friend, gave him the idea of recording it for Ongline.

"But most of my listeners on Ongline Podcast were Americans and 99% of them did not understand Hokkien.

"We came up with the idea of starting a brand-new chat show with no topic restrictions and entirely in Penang-style Hokkien," he said in an e-mail interview.

Ong, together with a Penang-based friend Hiao Hong and KE, recorded a handful of trial conversations and posted the first show on PenangHokkien.com last August.

Today, there are 114 registered participants including those originally from the northern states in Malaysia but now residing in Singapore, the United States, France, China, Japan, Italy, Britain, the Netherlands, Australia, New Zealand and the Ukraine.

In the podcast's Penang Hokkien forum, the online community can click on topics such as food, "Apa talk pun boleh", "Penang what happening?" or check dates and times to take part in the podcast recording.

To celebrate the first anniversary of the podcast, a recording sung by guests Wantan (meat dumpling), Lap Cheong (chinese sausage), Kuan Kong (a Chinese deity), Ang Ku Kueh (red tortise cake), Oh Tao (black head) and Shua Hu (shark) to the tune of the Hokkien song Hua Hee Toh Ho (It's All Right So Long As We're Happy) was recently posted on the site.

"Penang Hokkien, si chin chia ho thik tho (Penang Hokkien is so much fun)," he said.

"Oo lang kong ho, oo lang kong bai (Some say it's good, some say it's bad)."

Ong, formerly from Penang Chung Ling High School, Methodist Boys School, and KDU in Petaling Jaya before pursuing a degree in Broadcasting and Film in the United States in 1996, said podcast guests need not be from Penang.

"As long as you can understand Penang Hokkien, have a good story to tell and have a lot to say (we call it kapster), then you can be my guest," said Ong.

The Star, Friday August 18, 2006
Penangite in US starts Hokkien podcast