Thaipusam & Chingay Processions Not Allowed Next Year Due To Omicron Fears

All festive processions, including the Kavadi procession for Thaipusam and Chingay festivities for Chinese New Year, will not be allowed in 2022.

Minister of National Unity, Datuk Halimah Mohamed Sadique shared this news during the morning session of today’s Parliamentary sitting, adding that processions are not allowed due to fact that the country is facing a new variant of Covid-19, which is the Omicron variant.

“In the applications in conjunction with the Thaipusam celebrations, processions are not allowed (because) we are facing a new variant.”

“As for Chingay, I have mentioned that processions for Thaipusam celebrations are not allowed, so of course any processions are not allowed and that also depends on the decision of the three committees”, she shared.

This comes after Tebrau MP, Steven Choong Shiau Yoon, asked about the standard operating procedures (SOPs) for the upcoming Chinese New Year festive celebrations, including for Chingay parades.

Batu Gajah MP, Sivakumar Varatharaju Naidu, previously asked on the SOPs for Thaipusam celebrations on 18 January, 2022.

Halimah has since also shared that the proposed SOPs for festive celebrations, including for this year’s Christmas celebration, is expected to be tabled during committee meetings in the middle of December.

“After getting the results of the meetings, a letter of notification of SOP approval will be sent to religious leaders and a media statement will be issued”, she added.

What do you think about another year without festive processions? Let us know in the comment section.

Also read: BREAKING: First Case of Omicron Detected in Malaysia