1Malaysia?

Cloud Seeding in Johor

After weeks of dry and hot weather, the Johor government has resorted to cloud-seeding to induce rain and save our otherwise emptying dams. So for the past few days, it has been raining almost non-stop. Perhaps, now the dams will fill-up with water and the pitiful folks at Kluang will finally get some water supply. The rain is definitely a welcome respite from the teribble heat of the past weeks. But it does have its fair share of negatives - flash floods, traffic snarls and cancellation of outdoor activities.

The Scientist & Wicker Park

"The Scientist" by Coldplay - one of my favorite songs featured in the film "Wicker Park", which is also one of my favorite movies.

Come up to meet you, tell you I'm sorry

You don't know how lovely you are

I had to find you

Tell you I need you

Tell you I've set you apart

Tell me your secrets

And ask me your questions

Oh, let's go back to the start

Running in circles

Coming up tails

Heads on the science apart

Nobody said it was easy

It's such a shame for us to part

Nobody said it was easy

No one ever said it would be this hard

Oh take me back to the start

I was just guessing

At numbers and figures

Pulling the puzzles apart

Questions of science

Science and progress

Do not speak as loud as my heart

Oh tell me you love me

Come back and haunt me

Oh and I rush to the start

Running in circles

Chasing our tails

Coming back as we are

Nobody said it was easy

Oh, it's such a shame for us to part

Nobody said it was easy

No one ever said it would be so hard

I’m going back to the start

Oh ooh ooh ooh ooh

Ah ooh ooh ooh ooh

Oh ooh ooh ooh ooh

Oh ooh ooh ooh ooh

Johor Burning

It is burning everywhere in Johor. The air smells of smoke from forest fires. It is suffocating, the distant seems hazy and the weather super hot. It's reaching 40degC, reminding me of the days in the Middle East. The blazing sun is burning the skin. Rain, which is sparse seems to be erratic and short further exacerbating the heat wave. There also seems to be tendence for rain to fall in segments, like only half the road is raining while the other half perfectly dry.

The world climate is definitely going crazy. There's no doubt about that. It suddenly rained heavily this evening. But after that, it still feels hot and the smell of smoke reemerges.

Chingay Day 2

The night procession starting off from the shrine at Jln Ulu Ayer Molek.


And the following video (actually from 2009) captures the spirit and enthusiasm of the devotees as the Hokkien deity arrives at City Square:

Chingay Day 1

The procession of the 5 deities from JB's Old Temple to the temporary shrine at Jln Ulu Ayer Molek. The video shows quite clearly the 5 deities passing by. The 5 deities are:

• Yuan Tian Shang Di (元天上帝) (大老爷)
• Hong Xian Da Di (洪仙大帝) (洪仙公)
• Gan Tian Da Di (感天大帝)
• Hua Guang Da Di (华光大帝)
• Zhao Da Yuan Shuai (赵大元帅)

Huge Chingay Procession

Finally made it to the huge Chingay Procession this year. There were more than 100,000 people gathered in front of City Square waiting for the procession to reach Jalan Wong Ah Fook. It was amazing to see so many Johoreans gathering in a place which on normal days would be occupied by foreign workers. The procession started off from Jln Ulu Ayer Molek around 7pm as the crowd starts to build in anticipation of its arrival at City Square. Even the Menteri Besar was around to grace the ceremony, and he sat through the entire procession. Just before the procession arrived at 9.30pm, we were feted to a fireworks display and a spectacular lion dance performance by the Muar-based world champion. And now I understood why they were the champions!

It was also incredible to see how religious and devoted Johoreans are the 5 deities from the Old Temple. Many were holding huge joss sticks and everyone clasped their hands in prayer when each deity passes by.

Each deity is proceeded by a long number of floats and performances representing each Chinese group. The 130-year old tradition features numerous cultural performances, lion/dragon/tiger dances, Chinese clowns, beautifully decorated floats, martial arts troupes, huge Chingay flags etc. The 5 deities coming in at different points of time would be welcomed with eagerness. You have to catch the sight of the deities sitting on the carriage being swing in earnest as a sign of good fortune and prosperity. And accompanied each time by shouts of "Huat Ah" and "Heng Ah", which basically means good fortune. The Menteri Besar must have been amused and impressed by such show of devotion. By the time the last deity passes by it was past midnight. It was definitely an eye-opener to the age-old traditions of culture of the JB Chinese community. Definitely an event which should be promoted on Tourism Malaysia's calendar!

One of the deity being paraded. See if you can spot the deity. I took the pic from afar!
A float passing bay

One of the huge Chingay flags. Beware as it is swung around, sweeping just above your heads!

Some other facts about the Chingay procession:

• JB is the only place in the world where CNY is celebrated for 22 days instead of 15 days. And the highlight of this is the Chingay procession to mark the successful completion of the CNY celebrations.
• On the 19th day of CNY, a ceremonial cleaning of the streets would be carried out in preparation for the parading of the deities. The routes to be passed by the deities would be cleaned. It is also said that after completion of the cleaning rituals, the sky has never failed to open up and rain.
• On the 20th day of CNY, the 5 deities would be paraded from the JB Old Temple in the city center to a shrine at Jalan Ulu Ayer Molek where devotees can come to offer their prayers.
• On the 21st day of CNY, the Chingay Procession known as the Parade of the Deities would be the climax of the entire Chingay event. The 5 deities would be paraded from the shrine through the city center of JB before returning to the shrine. The event starts off at 7pm and by the time the procession returns to the shrine, it would be around 1 am.
• On the 22nd day of CNY, the 5 deities would be paraded back to the Old Temple, marking the end of the Chingay procession as well as the CNY celebrations in JB.

For more information on the annual event, check out this web site: http://jboldtemple.blogspot.com/. Pity though the site is only in Chinese.

JB's Biggest Procession

The biggest Chinese event in JB of the year will be held this weekend - The Chingay Procession which is also the day the Gods of JB's Old Temple go for a walk around town. Apparently, this Friday, the 5 Gods representing the 5 Chinese clans will make its way to a temple located just outside of the city. The main procession will be on Saturday when the 5 Gods will make a tour of JB city, passing by JB's waterfront and Jalan Wong Ah Fook amidst much festivity. There will be cultural performances, drum-beating, dragon dance, men walking on stilts and lots of joss-sticks by devotees. It is said to be the biggest cultural event of the year for JB and attracts thousands of visitors and devotees. On Sunday, the Gods will make its way back JB's Old Temple.

I've stayed in JB for many years but have never witnessed the procession in person. This year, it coincides with a weekend. Perhaps, I should make a plan to experience the cultural part of the city! Meanwhile, some pictures of the event from previos years:

And from the old B&W days...