SEREMBAN, Mar 25 (Sin Chew Daily) — Public cemeteries are not supposed to close for Qing Ming, or tomb-sweeping festival, according to the Federation of Chinese Cemeteries Malaysia president Chen Zhang Xing.

To perform prayers at the ancestors' graves, standard operating procedures (SOPs) to prevent COVID-19 pandemic set by the government for Qing Ming festival should be good enough, he said.

Many Chinese cemetery operators in the country have announced that the cemeteries will not open for prayers during the Qing Ming festival despite government assurance RM50,000 fine will not be imposed on cemetery committees for SOP violation by members of the public.

Many who are planning to perform Qing Ming prayers are at a loss over the decision made by the committees.

Some have accused the committees of shunning their responsibilities by not opening the cemeteries during Qing Ming.

Chen said as long as members of the public comply with the government's SOPs, they should not be worried.

"Members of the public should not worry about the consequences for performing prayers at the cemeteries," he said.

Chen admitted that due to the varying sizes of the cemeteries, the committees should be the ones to decide time allocated for prayers during Qing Ming.

"The committees should be flexible in drafting time allocated for Qing Ming prayers. As long as members of the public comply with the SOPs, they should be allowed to visit the cemeteries even outside the visiting hours set by the committees," he added.

Chan said it should not be a problem for public cemeteries with no staff to monitor the crowd as long as visitors maintain social distancing, put on their face masks, have their body temperatures checked and limit the number of visitors per family to not more than six.

"The cemetery management will need to have MySejahtera QR code ready for members of the public to scan before they enter the cemetery. The management is deemed negligent If members of the public find no MySejahtera codes to scan while visiting the cemetery not within the visiting hours set by the committee," he said. 

Qing Ming falls on April 4 this year, and Chinese Malaysians will generally pay respect by visiting the ancestors' graves ten days before or after Qing Ming.