JOHOR BARU: In a gesture of interfaith respect, the annual Chingay parade will proceed with a special “zero noise” requirement when it passes mosques along its route.
Johor Baru Tiong-Hua Association president Chee Wing Kien, who leads the organising committee, said the 150-year-old tradition would take place on Monday.
Starting from the Xing Gong Temple in Jalan Ulu Air Molek at 7pm, the five-deity procession will pass several mosques including Masjid Kampung Mahmoodiah, Masjid India and Masjid Habib Hassan Al-Attas.
Chee said the event was approved with an additional condition this year as Muslims observe the holy month of Ramadan.
“Police have instructed us to refrain from shouting slogans, playing music and using musical instruments when passing by the mosques.
“Although no specific distance or boundary was stated for the zero-noise requirement, we will minimise noise before reaching the mosques and only resume performances after passing the areas,” he said.
Chee said workers and volunteers will be stationed along the route to manage crowd control and ensure compliance with the requirement.
Acknowledging that “complete silence” would be challenging, he said they would do their best to minimise noise levels.
“While the instruction is understood and respected, complete silence will be difficult to achieve given the scale of the parade, which involves tens of thousands of participants, as well as colourful floats and cultural performances.
“However, we will cooperate and adhere to the rules to maintain social harmony and show respect to our Muslim friends,” he added.
The parade is part of the annual five-day Chingay Festival, which begins with a lighting ceremony on March 6, followed by a street cleansing ritual before the deities depart for the Xing Gong Temple and return to Johor Ancient Temple on March 10.
