Drawing visitors who seek blessings

Giant candles lit at the temples altar.

THE 150-year-old Kon Yin Temple in Gopeng is famous for the Song Zi Guan Yin deity (Goddess of Mercy) among devotees who seek her blessings especially for a child.

Kon Yin is the Hakka pronounciation for Guan Yin in the predominantly Hakka community in Gopeng, and the temple is located about 15km from Ipoh.

Devotees from afar come here to pray and seek blessings. Most pray for a child.

“Many Gopeng folk have also received blessings from Guan Yin,” said Cheah Chee Kheong from Kampung Rawa Baru, Gopeng.

He said his younger brother and wife were blessed with a child after they sought Guan Yin’s blessings.

“The child is now in Form Three,” he said when we met at the temple along Jalan Tasik in Gopeng.

Cheah says a Goddess of Mercy statue will be built next to the temple’s entrance for next years Chinese New Year.  

The 56-year-old Cheah, who is the temple committee secretary, has many other similar stories to share of Malaysians and other visitors from Singapore, Vietnam, Hong Kong and England.

“Some families return to give thanks to Guan Yin for her blessings. Other devotees also bring their child along with them,” he said.

The temple, a landmark in Gopeng, is a meeting place for many Gopeng folk especially those from Kampung Baru Rawa.

The main road in Gopeng cuts across the temple and the village.

Cheah, who was the former village chief, said many villagers especially the elderly spent much of their time at the temple and were particular about its upkeep.

He said there were about 80 houses in the village with an estimated population of 3,000 people.

Some of the houses in Kampung Rawa Baru are semi-concrete and wooden units, a reminder of the old days. 

“Our village is purely a residential area and is almost 70 years old,” he said, adding that the residents made use of the facilities in Gopeng town as it was nearby.

The collapse of the tin industry in 1985 also saw many villagers losing their jobs, in the mines, overnight.

Gopeng’s heyday as a mining town also came to an abrupt end.

Many of its residents then headed to big cities or even left for overseas to find work, he said of the village’s history.

Better education opportunities also saw the younger generation moving out of the village or even Gopeng for better job prospects.

Looking back, Cheah said the temple used to have at least three weeks of celebration in the run-up to the Goddess of Mercy Festival.

Villagers are involved in caring for the Kon Yin Temple’s upkeep.

These festivals took place on the second, sixth and ninth month of the lunar calendar.

“There were many sponsors, especially the tin miners for the celebration in the old days.

“There were opera shows by troupes from Hong Kong and free vegetarian meals for devotees and visitors,” he said adding that the air of festivity was felt all over Gopeng back then.

Cheah said the celebration, nowadays, was only for a week as sponsorhip had reduced significantly compared to the good old days.

The village or Gopeng may be quiet in the post-tin mining era but Cheah said community leaders were still hopeful to see the festivities being celebrated on a grander scale.

Citing the temple as an example, Cheah said many devotees got to know of its existence from social media especially Facebook.

“We may be in a small town that is easily eclipsed by big cities but the Internet era has helped propel Gopeng and the village,” he said.

Cheah said there were also tourists who were drawn to the eco-tourism attractions in Gopeng.

There were many visitors making day trips or stopping for food in Gopeng as the North-South Expressway and the toll plaza was about 500m from town.

Cheah, who worked in a restaurant in Kuala Lumpur before returning to Gopeng more than a decade ago, said good food could draw visitors and was a catalyst for tourism.

He said the temple would erect a Goddess of Mercy statue before the next Chinese New Year, and this would help promote tourism in Gopeng.

He said the 7m-tall statue cost RM200,000 and so far, villagers had raised more than half the amount.

Cheah hopes tourism would help turn Gopeng around, and pave the way for the people especially the younger generation to get better job opportunities without having to move elsewhere.

“Gopeng and its neighbouring village are ideal for those wanting a simple and comfortable life,” said Cheah.