MORE often than not, people are trying to attend meetings, so it is very rare to hear of an occasion that someone gatecrashes one.
While an uninvited guest might raise some eyebrows, apparently one such "guest" caused something of a scene at one meeting room in Gelugor.
Apparently, the guest in question was a reticulated python the size of a van.
Is it true that a python gate crashed a meeting in Gelugor, Penang?
Verdict:
TRUE
A meeting that was to be held in Gelugor, Penang turned anxious when an uninvited "guest" was discovered to be present.
Organisers were surprised to find a reticulated python "hiding" underneath a transparent tablecloth.
"Present in the meeting," according to the description of the video that had gone viral on social media.
Speaking to Malay language news portal mStar.com.my, Muhammad Nakiee Alias said the incident happened at his workplace in Gelugor, Penang, on the morning of Aug 23.
The 34-year-old said, on the day of the incident, the meeting room should have been used as a place for discussions related to a tender.
"That morning my colleague went into the room to turn on the lights and air conditioning. As soon as the light was turned on, he saw a large, long object on the table where the food was served.
"Looking closely, it looked like a reticulated python. He was surprised by the snake and ran out of the meeting room before telling us what he saw," he said when contacted by mStar.
Nakiee said the commotion caused him and some other colleagues to enter the meeting room on the ground floor of the two-storey office building.
"Actually, I myself was amused by the snake. But I managed to record the condition of the snake on the table before my friend contacted Malaysian Civil Defense (APM).
"Even with my friends, I was surprised to see a snake that long and that big. It was like the length of a van," he said, who comes from Sik, Kedah.
According to the civil servant, the APM team arrived at his office about 15 minutes later and managed to catch and remove the reptile.
He, however, said it was not the first time pythons visited his office area, adding that the last time was a few months ago.
"Before this, snakes had entered here many times, but usually in the area around the office and drains. As far as I know this is the first time one entered the premises.
"It is possible that it entered through the air space near the window of the meeting room on the ground floor.
"The snake must have just entered as the last time the meeting room was used was the evening before," said the father of three.
Regarding the tender-related discussion that should have been held in the meeting room, Nakiee said they changed locations to the pantry.
"I did not join the discussion. But I understand that they did not discuss it in the meeting room because they were still worried about the snake, fearing that there would be other 'friends'," he said.
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