RM30,000 yearly Chap Goh Mei funding sought
Published on: Thursday, July 21, 2016
Labuan: Labuan Chinese Chamber of Commerce (LCCC) wants the Tourism and Culture Ministry to allocate RM30,000 yearly in support of the "Chap Goh Mei" festival which has developed into an important tourism product of the island.LCCC Chairman Datuk Wong Kii Yii, who handed the appeal letter to Member of Parliament Datuk Rosman Isli to be forwarded to the Ministry, also extended a copy to the Federal Territories Ministry for its endorsement. He said "the MP himself had attended the celebrations for the past three years and witnessed the tens of hundreds of people, including many outside thronging the festival site to enjoy the colourful celebration."
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He added that though Chap Gog Mei was an important festival which marked the 15th night of the lunar new year, no other town in Borneo celebrated the day in a similar fashion and this was part of the reason for the growing interest in the festival.Wong said next year, it is expected to draw even larger crowd following the completion of the towering 7-metre (21 ft) image of Goddess of Mercy (Kuan Yin) at the grounds of the artistic Temple of Eight Immortals (Pak Sin Mew) which forms part of the festival site.He said many had not seen the statue yet and this would be an added reason to be present at the festival. The statue sculpture by masons in China was built at a cost of RM3 million together with the landscape and shipping expenses. The deity is known to have great devotional popularity among Buddhist and Taoist followers.
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He went on to say that the "Chap Goh Mei" was the only style of festival around here and since it contributed to tourism, it should be recognised by the Tourism Ministry."Labuan's economy partly depends on tourism and we should not ignore the potential areas of development.
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Having new tourism products is important but to strengthen existing ones was also equally important," remarked Wong.To hold a grand celebration, Wong said it would cost at least RM30,000. He said last year, the FT Ministry gave RM15,000, the MP RM4,000 and he himself contributed RM6,000. The balance came from donations from the community. He said since the Ministry was responsible for tourism development "it should take the lead role."He added that the festival cannot be kept vibrant and interesting without the support of the Ministry, apart from being a tourism product it also showcased the cultural diversity of the nation.In the letter, the chamber also took the opportunity to request for a wide access road to the main site of the festival, sufficient parking bays and toilet facilities.The festival, apart from here, it is also widely celebrated in Penang where it is also connected to the festival of romance and lanterns. Romance because on that day, maidens would write their contact numbers on oranges and hurl them into a river and the finder could contact the orange owner. But this is not widely practised now in this technology era. Most of Labuan's rivers are also polluted.Celebrations of the festival begun here many years ago when Chinese migrated here due to the war back home, seeking a better life. Many of them were Hokkien and professed the Taoist faith. The settlers went through hard times, mostly working in the service sector.Their hardship paid off and many gradually became affluent. Thankful to their god, several temples had been built in the Rancha Rancha/Sungai Keling zone, the centre-piece being the Temple of Eight Immortals which draws scores of visitors all round the year.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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