Water woes, coronavirus worries ain't stopping Jade Emperor celebrations in Melaka

BIG DAY: Datuk Ronald Gan and his wife Chan Bee Leng preparing for the Heavenly Jade Emperor's birthday.

MELAKA: The ongoing water-rationing exercise in Melaka and the novel coronavirus scare will not put a damper on the celebrations to honour the Jade Emperor's birthday, especially among the Peranakan (Straits Chinese) community here.

Many Melaka executive councillors said they would be attending the thanksgiving ceremonies that would be held across the state on Saturday night (Feb 1).

Melaka Communication, Multimedia, Youth Development and Sports Committee chairman Kerk Chee Yee said he had been invited as chief guest to honour Heavenly Jade Emperor at a Hindu temple in Ayer Keroh.

"The event is organised jointly by Hindu and Taoist devotees in my constituency," he said on Saturday (Jan 29).

Meanwhile, Malaysia Baba and Nyonya Association chairman Datuk Ronald Gan is also holding a grand celebration at his home in Taman Pulau Nibong.

He said the eighth evening of the Chinese Lunar New Year was considered an auspicious day and regarded as the most sacred day for the Hokkiens, as well as the offshoot Peranakan community.

"Today is the day when we set up prayer altars with a variety of offerings, such as longevity cakes in the shape of plums, a variety of vegetables, fruits and an assortment of delicacies," he said.

According to Gan, in Fujian province during the Song Dynasty, the Hokkiens sought refuge and hid in a sugarcane plantation when there was an invasion.

He said when the invaders came, they saw no one and they returned home.

"The people were overjoyed and returned to their homes safely. As a mark of thanksgiving, the community has never failed to remember this and decided to commemorate the anniversary of the event ever since,” he said.

Gan said this year the community would be praying for the Jade Emperor to intervene and end the coronavirus, as well as to bring rain to Melaka which has been hit by water rationing since Jan 29.

The 24-hour rationing is carried-out on alternate days for an indefinite period from 10am to 10am the following day, and affects 550,673 or 62.8% of the Melaka population.