Read: Cooler days ahead in M'sia
The Meteorological Department predicts that the temperature in the state bordering Thailand to be between 24 to 33 degrees Celsius in the coming week.
"We hope that these cold easterly winds would not cause any problem and instead attract visitors who are looking to enjoy the cool breeze", said Abdul Jamil.
This year, the Tourism and Culture Ministry has decided to welcome the cold season by organising a two-day festival called the Pesta Angin Timur 2014 (The Easterly Wind Festival 2014).
Perlis National Department for Culture and Arts (JKKN) director Rahmat Md Noh said it was high time for the season to be promoted as a tourism product.
He said promoting the musim timur in Perlis to local and foreign tourists would also be a good chance to introduce them to the local arts and culture scene.
Among the activities planned for the festival are "menggagau ikan" (hand-catching freshwater fish), hulling rice, tractor decorating competition and folk games in the paddy fields, said Rahmat, who is secretary for the organising committee for the festival.
Other suggestions for activities during the festival are a "gendang silat" competition, a wayang kulit performance, threshing rice, weaving a pandanus straw mat and a songbird competition.
Recounting the musim timur of yesteryears, 73-year-old Sum Sanapi from Bintong said it was a season for relaxation after the rice-planting and harvesting seasons.
Rain did not fall during the musim timur, but the cold easterly winds made one reluctant to take the morning bath, he recalled.
"The rain would only fall during the 'musim barat' (westerly monsoon season) and that was the time to get down to the paddy fields", he said.
For the younger generation, the musim timur is only marked by the dipping temperatures. They have never heard the sound of the paddy stem flute, which , once upon a time, was played during the season.
Musim timur today is vastly different from what it was decades ago.
The "music" heard from rice hulling activities today is only heard during cultural performances.
The older generation busied themselves with a variety of activities during the musim timur, but the youth today preferred to spend time with gadgets and online games. - Bernama
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