Focus Malaysia:
Malays nowadays know when the Hungry Ghost Festival is celebrated, open to it as religious harmony bridge
IT is somehow touching when a Malay netizen ticked off an ignorant TikToker for allegedly “fanning the flames of racism” by accusing the colourful flags – purportedly for the recently-concluded Hungry Ghost Festival celebration – for having been erected side-by-side the Jalur Gemilang which are put up in conjunction with the upcoming Merdeka Day.
“Feeling sorry for the Malaysian flags,” was how the TikToker had captioned his 27-second video clip which prompted the netizen 요시로 왕자 (@Cool_Wannabe82I) to wonder what are the issues that the former wanted to raise.
Aq tak berpihak mana² , cuma kenapa ada saja isu yg nak di bangkitkan untuk tiup api perkauman?
A mainstay in certain East and Southeast Asian countries. the Hungry Ghost Festival is an annual traditional event celebrated on the 15th night of the seventh month of the Chinese lunar calendar (ie last Sunday (Aug 18).in conjunction with the “ghost month”. For 2024, the ghost month started on Aug 4 and ends on Sept 2.
According to Taoist beliefs, the “gates of hell” are opened on the first day of the seventh month, allowing the spirits of long-deceased ancestors to come out in search of food and entertainment.
Quite a number of commenters instantaneously identified the colourful flags as “having something to do with the Hungry Ghost Festival while taking a pot shot at the TikToker for “failing to mingle with people outside his own community”.
In fact, a few netizens regarded the placement of the prayer’s flags side-by-side the Malaysian flags as not only a non-issue but more so, signifying respect and tolerance.
Some netizens attributed the ignorance of the TikToker to lack of general knowledge or something of a cultural shock for someone “who for the first time stepped into a non-Malay majority area” (the video clip was presumably shot at Taman Equine in Seri Kembangan, Selangor).
To sum up, a commenter reckoned that “the flags are not a big fuss” but just that the Hungry Ghost Festival celebration somehow coincided with the Merdaka month or that the TikToker “is hungry for clickbait”. – Aug 22, 2024
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