Malaysians abroad make do for CNY

Meaningful meal: Chan (left) and flatmate Nicholas Tam enjoying their small-scale reunion dinner on the eve of Chinese New Year in London. — ADRIAN CHAN

PETALING JAYA: Despite being thousands of miles away from home, Malaysians abroad found their own ways to celebrate Chinese New Year in familiar ways.

Jerry Tan Hai Kok, who is a medical student at Newcastle University, United Kingdom, made dumplings from scratch to mark the occasion.

Together with a Chinese national flatmate, he also made vegetarian dumplings for their British flatmate, who is a vegetarian.

Tan, 23, said he did not feel so lonely during the festive season due to the tight-knit group of students there.

“CNY abroad is still CNY. The tradition never changes, ” said Tan, who is from Sarawak.

However, he missed the open houses that used to be held in Malaysia.

“I miss the wide array of food, treats, firecracker shows, the merriment of gongs accompanying the lion dances and of course, angpow (red packets) from the parents of my friends!

“The Spring Festival is also a good time to catch up with friends and relatives whom I have not seen for a whole year, ” he said.

As for forensic accountant Adrian Chan, who is based in London, his Malaysian friends in Petaling Jaya surprised him with a hamper filled with biscuits and other goodies such as a turnip cake and nian gao (glutinous rice cake).

These treats reminded him of celebrating the occasion at his grandparents’ when he was growing up in Ipoh, he said.

Asked what he missed most, he said: “Kuih kapit.”

“Without my girlfriend and my family who are in Malaysia now, I felt alone but thanks to the one flatmate, it feels more lively, ” he added.

Chan, 30, said he had not been home for a year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“But it’s not too bad, now that we have video calls and WhatsApp calls. Technology keeps us connected seamlessly, ” he said.

During the second day of Chinese New Year, he and his Malaysian friends kept in touch via a Facebook video call.

Chong even received two e-angpow.

“Some people now prefer the convenience of sending e-angpow, ” he said.