JOHOR BAHRU, Feb 22 (Sin Chew Daily) — A smooth Chingay parade was held with five deities brought out from the Johor Ancient Temple for a tour of the city on Monday night.

Except for committee members of several temples, members of the public were not allowed to join the parade as part of the strict standard operating procedures to curb the COVID-19 pandemic.

Prior to the commencement of the parade, devotees were excited with shouts of “Huat ah! Heng ah!” after the deities were invited out of the temple.

The devotees subsequently sought the blessings from the deities to end the pandemic.

The Chingay festival held from February 19 to 22 was allowed this year to mark the end of the Chinese New Year celebrations for the Johoreans.

Members of the public were allowed to stay on the roadside to watch the parade. Police personnel were on motorcycles patrolling along the route to ensure SOP compliance.

Members of the public could also watch the parade online, as a total of 18 countries including Singapore and Taiwan have featured the parade in live telecasts.

The crowd was bigger this year with a total of 11 decorative floats taking part in the parade. In 2020, only six floats were allowed and the Chingay festival was held internally by the temple and association committee members behind closed doors last year due to the pandemic.