Aussie mayor unable to resist durian

Acquired taste: Haese eating durian as Yew (right) looks on at Armenian Park in Penang.

GEORGE TOWN: While Caucasian visitors typically cringe at the smell and taste of durian, the Mayor of Adelaide shares no such uneasiness. He just loves durians.

Penang Island City Council (MBPP) laid out a feast of durian, chempedak, rambutan and mangosteen for Adelaide Mayor Martin Haese and the MBPP team was delighted when he went at the durian with gusto.

“This my second round in two days having the durian. I had some in Singapore earlier. I also had them when I last visited Penang in 2013,” said Haese yesterday after the feast at Armenian Park.

“I also love durian ice-cream and the other local fruit also tastes great,” he added.

Haese is leading a delegation on an official visit to look into new areas of mutual cooperation. Adelaide and George Town are sister cities since 45 years ago, linked historically by the fact that Captain Francis Light founded Penang and his son Colonel William planned the creation of Adelaide from scratch.

“I am also here to congratulate MBPP mayor Yew Tung Seang on his appointment,” Haese said.

He expressed amazement at the restoration and conservation of heritage buildings in George Town and found that a lot has changed since his last visit in 2013.

“The council has done a great job in maintaining the cultural and heritage characteristics of places and buildings.”

Yew in his welcoming address said Adelaide and George Town shared many similarities which go back to the era of Captain Francis.

“I am impressed with the Smart City initiatives by Adelaide, especially the recent launch of Australia’s first fibre optic network providing speeds up to 10GBps under the ‘Ten Gigabit Adelaide”.