Much-awaited event: One of the five deities being taken out of the Johor Ancient Temple to be brought to the Xing Gong Temple. — THOMAS YONG/The Star
JOHOR BARU: After a long three-year wait, Singaporean Daniel Yong was finally able to return to take part in the Chingay festival here.
The 78-year-old retiree said the festival in Johor Baru was an annual must-attend event for him, and he had been crossing the border without fail for decades until the closure of the border in 2020.
“For as long as I can remember, I have always come to Johor during the Chingay festivities without missing a beat.
“Unfortunately, things changed in 2020 when the border between Singapore and Johor was closed until April last year.
“For the past three years, I have been waiting eagerly for this day to come, and finally, my wish came true,” he said when met near the Johor Ancient Temple in Jalan Trus.
Yong expressed excitement about seeing the traditional Chingay procession tonight, and he believes others are as well.
He was among thousands waiting in front of the Johor Ancient Temple yesterday morning to see the five main Chinese dialect clans’ deities making their way to the Xing Gong Temple in Jalan Ulu Air Molek.
Chinese medicine practitioner Ong Chee Ching, 35, said he was grateful to be once again among those to carry the deities from the Johor Ancient Temple to the Xing Gong Temple.
“I am a member of the Johor Baru Hakka Association, and for the past 12 years before the Covid-19 pandemic, I have been among those assigned to carry the deities to the Xing Gong Temple.
“It was such a great honour but unfortunately, I was unable to carry out my duties in the past three years as the festival was scaled down significantly.
“Each deity will have about 20 people carrying it by foot to get from one temple to the other.
“The same will apply today, where the deities will be brought for a tour of about 8km around Johor Baru to bless the town,” he said.
Meanwhile, Johor Baru Tiong Hua Association president Ho Sow Tong said the festival is expected to draw some 300,000 local and international visitors.
“We expect to see a crowd of at least 300,000 people coming to witness or taking part in the main highlight of the Chingay Festival, the procession, today.
“Many people are looking forward to the festival this year, especially since the main procession is on a weekend,” he said.
On Thursday, the four-day festival kicked off with a “street cleansing” ceremony.
At about 11am yesterday, deities of the five main dialect clans – Hokkien, Cantonese, Hainan, Hakka and Teochew – were brought out of the Johor Ancient Temple and temporarily placed at the Xing Gong Temple in Jalan Ulu Air Molek before the main procession today.
The highlight of the festivities is the Chingay procession, when the deities are brought on a “tour” to bless the city and its people.
On the last day of the festival, the deities are brought back from the Xing Gong Temple to the Johor Ancient Temple.
The Chinese community in Johor Baru celebrates the century-old Chingay festival from the 19th to the 22nd day of the Lunar New Year (Feb 9 to 12).
After being observed without fanfare since 2020 because of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Chingay festival is returning to its pre-pandemic scale this year.
