KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 2 ― After two years of muted celebrations Kuala Lumpur was a hive of activity on the first day of Chinese New Year (CNY) yesterday, as throngs of tourists as well as locals headed out for some much-needed festive cheer.
Malay Mail observed Chinese temples began to see worshippers as early as 7am with devotees paying their respects under strict standard operating procedures (SOPs). Many of them expressed relief and confidence to go out due to the high vaccination rates.
At the Thean Hou Temple in Kuala Lumpur, Malay Mail met Chow Zi Xuen, 22, who was not able to pray there last year as she and her family feared getting infected. This year, she is more confident that the SOPs in place would help them avoid an outbreak.
“We didn’t plan to visit any relatives as we’re still afraid of the pandemic but we would love to come and pray and after this, we’ll go home,” she said when met.
Lau Wei Han, 48, said this year’s celebrations were better than last year’s as there was no movement control order (MCO) that restricted Malaysians from crossing state borders.
“Last year the MCO was on so I couldn't visit relatives more than 10km away. This year we could visit our families and have the reunion dinner so this year is definitely better than last.
“We hope the pandemic can be improved so most of the people can return to their normal lives. I’m planning to visit some relatives to catch up. They are adamant on SOPs. Some friends are also very strict about this and adhere to these SOPs which I am more than happy to do,” he said when met.
Devotees were streaming in at a steady pace at the temple with authorities doing a good job of ensuring distancing and also so that devotees do not linger too long at the premises.
In 2021, due to the MCO lasting until February 18 when the CNY fell on February 12 to 13, the Malaysian Chinese community had resorted to celebrations online as the means to keep traditions alive.
But yesterday over at the Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC), the crowd started to swell from 11am and kept growing despite the threat of rain.
Malay Mail’s observation showed that a large portion of the shoppers consisted of foreigners and Malay families, with very few tourists or Chinese families.
Employees at the outlets, such as Dunkin Donuts, told Malay Mail the crowd was larger than usual and perhaps even more than it was on Christmas and New Year’s Eve.
Almost all the shops were open but the patrons were seen mostly frequenting the eateries and food courts.
Queues upon queues were forming at lunchtime as security tried their best to make sure everyone was scanning their MySejahtera app as required.
While chatting up the masses Malay Mail found most of them just wanted to take the day off and make the best of their holiday.
“I was thinking, why not take the kids out today early and grab a bite to eat and head home?” said Ariff Irsan Zul Ariff, who was with his three kids and wife.
“We all got [booster vaccine doses] and the kids were a bit restless. I have three days off so if I take them out today I won’t have to hear the kids complain that I didn’t take them out I am a bit surprised at the crowd, but I think people are confident as most have been vaccinated.
“Plus since the government gave us permission, as long as we try our best to maintain SOPs and distance I think we should be ok. Complacency is the cause of the clusters, in my opinion,” said the 41-year-old engineer.
Malay Mail spotted two photography students outside the Pavilion Mall waiting to snap pictures of the lion dance just outside the mall entrance facing Jalan Bukit Bintang.
They told Malay Mail this was their first time experiencing Chinese New Year festivities as students
They enrolled in their photography programme during the pandemic in 2019 and are now in the third year of studies. They were out to take pictures for their college assignment as they could not do such things the past two years.
“My secondary and primary school didn’t have a lot of Chinese students,” Aina Rislin, 20 said when asked if she had experienced a proper CNY celebration before.
“I came to take some pictures and to experience the festivities as I have never really been to any CNY celebrations before. I love what I’m seeing and there are plenty of pictures to take now compared to before when the MCO and strict SOPs were in place.
“I do have one hope in that I really want to go back to college and have physical classes. Learning from home and online for this course just doesn’t cut it,” said the Kuala Lumpur native.
At about 1.30pm throngs of people were seen strewn across the streets as others ducked inside the mall to get a draft of the cold air-conditioned air as temperatures reached 36 degrees Celsius outside.
Malay Mail then went to the famous tourist spots, Petaling Street and Chow Kit, where the situation seemed similar with more people coming out compared to last year.
Kong Phui Yi, 31, from Kelana Jaya, Petaling Jaya said her family usually stays at home for the traditional festival and has a small get together.
This year however, they decided to have a “staycation” in KL, putting up in a nearby four-star hotel — Four Points by Sheraton Kuala Lumpur, Chinatown — for a few days this week.
“We’re not a very traditional family, but we’re quite tight-knit and we maintain our ties within our family throughout the year, so Chinese New Year is a little more of an ornamental occasion.
“Usually we do a Tea Ceremony ― where the children serve tea to the elders in a particular order ― but not this year [because we’re out on a staycation],” said the outreach coordinator who works at a local university.
When asked if she was still worried about the pandemic, Kong said: “I think the anxiety [of the pandemic] will always be there, but you accept that [the coronavirus is] all around you, and don’t forget to enjoy the small things in life.”
Lee Tuck Siong, 30, said he felt the celebration this year was much more festive than the past two years.
The Ampang-born garment trader, who has worked the streets here for the past 13 years, said he had finished praying at a temple and eating a hearty meal at home before coming to open up his stall.
He added that footfall here today was “a lot” more than last year’s CNY, and the number of people added to a feeling of merriment that he has missed.
“But [the number of visitors was] still a little less when compared to before the pandemic,” he said, adding that he had taken his booster vaccine shot to keep himself safe since he is still worried about getting a Covid-19 infection in the usually busy streets.
Meanwhile, Pasar Seni — also known as Central Market — which is about a five-minute walk away from Petaling Street, had much fewer visitors. Malay Mail estimated around 80 per cent of the shops were closed.
However, sounds of CNY rang through the air as a lion dance performance, with its iconic drum band, was seen at the entrance of the building at about 1pm.
Roy Ung, who was part of the lion dance troupe told Malay Mail said that they had been booked for about 10 performances today — a welcome sight as lion dances had been banned as part of the precautions against Covid-19 during CNY last year.
Roy is part of the Rumah Berhala Yuen Leong Sing Fatt lion dance troupe from Kg Cempaka, Petaling Jaya. The troupe members have part-time jobs and only perform their lion dances on CNY to collect donations for their temple.
“Before the pandemic, on the peak CNY days, we would get around 30 performance bookings a day,” said the 26-year-old who is a trader by day.
Traffic started picking up in the afternoon as traffic jams formed around the streets surrounding the city centre. It did not matter as there were still lots of people walking the streets, taking pictures and posting them up.
Most of the foreigners Malay Mail observed were seen either posting TikTok videos or talking through video calls with their friends and family.
Putrajaya has reminded everyone to get tested before making visits during the festive season as the Omicron wave has started in Malaysia.
This year the Chinese community is celebrating the lunar year of the tiger. - malaymail
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