Kee Phaik Cheen was the mastermind behind our cultural revival

Kee (second right) enjoying a state-level Chinese New Year open house in Leith Street. — Filepic

IT was the year 2000 and a massive food carnival became all the rave among everyone I knew.

I was in my late teens. All I knew then was that the length and breadth of Gurney Drive in Penang had to be closed to traffic for a record-breaking night.