Allen Wong
MIRI: Members of the Chinese community here have been advised to obtain police permits should they wish to take part in Qing Ming rituals at graveyards in the division.
When contacted yesterday, Miri Divisional Disaster Management Committee (MDDMC) minister in charge Datuk Lee Kim Shin said those worried about road blocks set up in the division due to the Covid-19 pandemic can obtain a police permit.
“The SOPs (standard operating procedures) limit to only eight people per family (for cemeteries) and only two persons per family (for columbariums) with strict practice of physical distancing,” he pointed out.
Desmond Lai, whose grandparents’ gravesite is at Fairy Park Memorial Park, Bakong Land District, about an hour from here, said he will get a police permit this week in preparation for Qing Ming.
“Every year, my immediate family members would come to Miri from Bintulu. Based on the SOPs by the State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC), I guess they would not be able to be here,” he said.
Lai said the memorial park had done early preparations such as disseminating forms for police permit purposes and restricting the number of visitors to only five people per family.
“We will give full cooperation to SDMC and the management as it is for the safety of everyone during this critical time,” he added.
Allen Wong, who hails from Sibu, said this will be his second year of not being able to return home for Qing Ming.
“My parents and other siblings will be handling the matters back home, so I need not have to worry too much.
“Instead, I will be joining my wife’s family to sweep the tomb of my father-in-law, thus have been busying prepping for it,” he said.
Wong said he obtained a police permit early this week as his father-in-law’s grave is in Lambir, located outside Miri zone.
Separately, the Miri Chinese Charitable Trust Board has adjusted visiting times for families to go to graveyards under its jurisdiction for Qing Ming.
Temenggong Yong Vui Seng
Board chairman Temenggong Yong Vui Seng said families can visit from 7am to 1pm, a slight adjustment to the 4am to noon set by SDMC in its SOPs for the festival.
“Due to the practices here, we adjusted to 7am to 1pm so that the Chinese community here could have adequate time, especially those who may need to visit more than one place,” he told The Borneo Post.
He urged the Chinese community to cooperate for the sake of their own safety and that of their loved ones in terms of adhering to SOPs when visiting cemeteries in Riam, Krokop, and Lambir under the board’s jurisdiction.
“Most of the places are open spaces, therefore we can only advise the public to practise strict SOPs with a limit to eight people per family, wearing face masks, and practising physical distancing,” he said.
He added visits to the columbarium would be restricted to four families of two persons each at any one time.
“We can implement the SOPs at the columbarium because it is a closed area and easier to monitor.
“Therefore, we will prepare temperature scanner, log book, and MySejahtera QR code for visitors,” said Yong.
The post ‘Get police permit for Qing Ming graveyard visits’ appeared first on Borneo Post Online.