KUALA LUMPUR – Two days have passed since Senior Minister (Security Cluster) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced the standard operating procedures (SOPs) for Chinese New Year celebrations, but the tirade against the Perikatan Nasional (PN) administration for its failure to understand Chinese culture is not over.
Subang assemblyman Michelle Ng shared a screenshot of the National Security Council’s (NSC) SOPs for the holiday on Twitter, which pointed out that Tanglung and Chingay events are prohibited.
“Oi NSC. Tanglung is done during Zhong Qiu (mid-autumn festival). That’s when we eat mooncakes. Not Chinese New Year,” Ng tweeted last night.
The practice of lighting lanterns is an ethnic Chinese tradition, but it is only done during the mid-autumn festival, which this year takes place in September.
Meanwhile, the Chingay parade, which celebrates the birthday of Kuan Yin (Goddess of Mercy), is prominently held in Penang in December, while in Johor it is usually held on the 21st day of the Lunar New Year.
These blunders by the PN administration were not only pointed out by the opposition leaders, but by those from within the party and cabinet as well.
Yesterday the National Unity Ministry said it would present views and appeals from the Chinese community regarding the SOPs to the National Security Council (NSC).
In fact, Deputy National Unity Minister Datuk Seri Ti Lian Ker said yesterday that the federal government made a “mistake” with regard to the Chinese New Year SOPs.
Similarly, yesterday former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said that in the future the NSC should get feedback from other races before setting rules for celebrating cultural events to prevent the government from being perceived as insensitive.
However, it may be too late for the PN regime.
Confidence in government takes new low
Yesterday, during a DAP webinar titled “SOP MKN: Why So Confusing?”, Pengkalan Kota state assemblyman Daniel Gooi opined that the people have the lowest confidence in the government in its role of combating the pandemic following the release of these SOPs.
He said this can be seen across social media, where netizens are making memes and jokes about the SOPs.
Gooi pointed out that because the NSC restricts visits during the holidays but allows night markets to operate, netizens created memes of people visiting family members at the night market.
In fact, comedian Jason Leong did just that right after Ismail’s announcement on the SOPs.
On Facebook, Leong posted: “So during this MCO, I cannot visit my parents for CNY as we live in different houses, but it’s okay.
“My family and extended relatives are all meeting up to at least say hi and exchange angpows. At the nearest pasar malam.” – The Vibes, February 6, 2021
