Elaborate offerings laid out to mark the Festival of the Hungry Ghosts.
KUCHING (Aug 5): Eligible houses of worship or associations are allowed to organise the Hungry Ghost Festival from Aug 8 to Sept 6 and people who are not vaccinated against Covid-19 are not allowed to attend them, an updated standard operating procedure (SOP) said.
The SOP, released by the State Disaster Management Committee and Unit for Other Religions (Unifor), has also limited the number of attendees and specified the time when the festivals can be held.
It said only houses of worship or associations gazetted under the Non-Islamic Charitable Trust Board under the Charitable Trust Ordinance 1994 or registered with the Registrar of the Societies (RoS) under the Societies Act 1966 (Act 335) will be allowed to organise the festival.
A maximum of 50 persons are allowed for indoor venues or 100 persons for outdoor venues at any one time, and the festivals can only be held between 6am and 10pm, from Aug 8 to Sept 6.
“Committee members who will be on duty for the festival must be fully vaccinated, while unvaccinated individuals are not allowed to participate in the festival,” the SOP said, adding that individuals aged below 18 are also not allowed to attend the festival.
The SOP discouraged senior citizens aged 80 and people with comorbidities to attend the festival, although the latter are advised to take precautions if they must attend the festivals.
This year’s Hungry Ghost Festival, widely known as Zhong Yuan Jie, falls on Aug 22.
The SOP said organisers are required to obtain a permit from the local authorities if their venue is in a public area.
Organisers are also required to fill out form ‘NRP/P2/HGF21’ and deliver to Unifor by post (4th Floor, Wisma Satok, Jalan Satok, 93400 Kuching, Sarawak), fax (082-550566) or email ([email protected]).
The SOP said organisers must sanitise the venue before and after the festival besides ensuring proper ventilation of the venue at all times.
Eating and drinking as well as activities involving physical contact are strictly prohibited.
Before the festival, organisers must determine the schedule or time-table, prepare a registration counter to, among others, check the risk status or proof of vaccination of participants.
During the festival, participants must sit or stand at designated areas only.
After the festival, participants must leave the venue in an orderly manner and socialising is not encouraged.
Organisers must appoint at least two personnel to monitor and ensure that the SOP is adhered to.