AMID backlash against the government’s Covid-19 standard operating procedure (SOP) for the Lunar New Year, local Chinese cultural and clan groups have called for a review to the rules while advising Malaysians celebrating the festival to take them as guidelines.

The Federation of Seven Clan Associations chairman Steve Chong said the SOP is just a guideline and the people still need to do their part in preventing coronavirus transmissions, including by wearing masks and washing hands frequently.

“Not being able to cross state boundaries does not mean the loss of familial bonding, people can always greet each other and their elderly relatives online.

“After a year of Covid-19, many senior citizens have learned to use smartphones and other digital technologies, and can easily video call relatives to check in on them,” he said.

Chong, who is also Federation of Hakka Associations Malaysia president, told The Malaysian Insight that people can consider holding a “digital reunion dinner” instead and share videos online.

“Now, many people use Zoom to meet up and have video chats online. I know it will be hard for senior citizens who are still unfamiliar with digital technology and are looking forward to having friends and relatives visit their hometowns this year, but these are extraordinary times (due to Covid-19),” he said.

Chong’s conciliatory tone comes amid furious backlash from Malaysians against the government for SOP many consider illogical, such as holding the all-important reunion dinner among “members of the same household”.

The SOP, announced by senior minister and National Security Council (NSC) spokesman Ismail Sabri Yaakob on February 4 also prohibit interstate travel, visits between and friends and family in each other’s homes, cultural activities such as dragon dances, lion dances, Chinese opera and stage performances and lantern parades and also prayers at houses of worship.

These rules were originally to be in force on February 12 and 13, the first and second day of Chinese New Year, which traditionally lasts 14 days.

The SOPs have been mocked since they were announced, with many shocked at the government’s ignorance over well-known facts, namely, that reunion dinners are held on the eve, and not the first or second day. Others have also pointed out the lack of common sense in limiting a reunion dinner and visits to people of the same household.

Some of the cultural activities such as Chinese opera, stage performances and lantern parades, aren’t even Chinese New Year activities.

After one day of furore, the National Unity Ministry, which was responsible for drafting the SOP for the NSC’s approval, on February 5 announced only one change to the rules –backdating the date of enforcement to February 11 and 12, and adding February 19 (the Hokkien New Year), but made no other amendments.

The SOP have spawned memes and jokes on social media that people should have their reunion dinners and visits at night markets or barbershops instead, since those businesses have been allowed to operate under the current lockdown.

Chong acknowledged people’s anger and their mocking of the government, but added that they must still remain vigilant in preventing the spread of Covid-19.

“The SOP set by the government will not grant immunity from the virus, people still need to be disciplined all the same,” he said.

Lim Hock San, who heads the Lim clan associations as well as Hokkien associations said an appeal has been made to the government to revise the SOP, especially on the reunion dinner.

The dinner is not merely a cultural tradition but also an opportunity for family bonding.

“The SOP in its current form, which limits the reunion dinner to members of the same house, makes it no different from a regular dinner,” said the president of the Federation of Lim Associations Malaysia and the Federation of Hokkien Associations Malaysia said.

“I hope the government can consider our culture and revise the SOP, and allow family members in the same district or state to have a reunion dinner. This will at least put the concerns of our elders at ease.”

‘Agreeable compromise’

Federation of Chinese Associations Malaysia (Huazong) president Goh Tian Chuan, meanwhile, said in a statement that the government should consult with stakeholders to find an agreeable compromise.

This could be in the form of allowing family members living within a 10km travel radius or same district or state to meet. As long as reunion dinners are held in residential areas and do not exceed a stipulated number of people, they are still considered stay-at-home events, he suggested.

“The point is that the government needs to gather feedback from the public.”

Goh also denied that the National Unity Ministry had invited Huazong to a consultation dialogue on the Chinese New Year SOPs on January 18.

In a statement today (February 6), he said he was puzzled by the ministry’s statement the day before where it listed all the organisations it said it consulted with.

“If we were invited by the relevant government departments or agencies, we certainly would have sent our representatives to provide our views and proposals on the issue,” Goh said.

The SOP have even stirred up dissent within the national unity ministry, which drafted them, with Deputy National Unity Minister Ti Lan Ker, urging the government to rescind them for an immediate review.

“Someone has made a mistake, this SOP must be removed and corrected immediately. This is not… SOP but a lockdown,” he said on Facebook, but would not comment further when contacted. – February 6, 2021.