Wesak Day was observed on a grand scale among Buddhists in the country today, albeit with some masking up and staying vigilant to the lingering spectre of COVID-19 after two years of muted celebration.

A check by Bernama in several states found that Buddhists and their families started visiting temples early in the morning to perform religious ceremonies to commemorate the birth, enlightenment and death of Siddharta Gautama Buddha, the founder of the religion.

In KEDAH, hundreds of Buddhists flocked to Wat Nikrodharam Temple in Alor Setar as early as 7am to conduct prayer rituals.

Tan Juay Kok, 43, from Taman Gunung Hijau (in Alor Setar) said he came to pray at 8.20am and did not find it crowded yet inside Wat Siam Teluk Wanjah, as it is better known.

“There are still not too many people, so that makes it a breeze for me to conduct the prayer ceremony and even though it is not mandatory to wear face masks, many worshippers were masked up as a precautionary measure against the spread of COVID-19,” he told Bernama here today.

Tan Hooi Chia, 38, from Taman Saga, Alor Setar, who brought along her one-year-old son, said she arrived at 9am to avoid any jostling as a caution against COVID-19.

In SELANGOR, a check at the Fo Guang Shan Dong Zen Temple in Jenjarom, Kuala Langat, which saw devotees arrive as early as 8 am, found most of the faithful donning face masks during the prayer ceremony while the temple took the initiative to hold free health screenings.

In KUALA LUMPUR, honorary secretary of the Sasana Abhiwurdhi Wardana Association for the Maha Vihara Brickfields Buddhist Temple, Tilak Leslie said this year’s Wesak Day atmosphere was more vibrant and livelier than last year following the under control COVID-19 situation.

He said his temple is targeting 25,000 to 30,000 people who will flock here to celebrate Wesak Day and Transport Minister Anthony Loke is scheduled to be present to launch the float and candlelight procession at 6pm today.

He said about 12 decorated floats will delight devotees and tourists alike in the 12-kilometre procession, which is a four-hour parade starting at the Maha Vihara Buddha Temple, passing through Little India, Pasar Seni, Jalan Raja Chulan, Bukit Bintang and then back to the temple.

In PERLIS, Perlis Buddhist Association president Hong Bee Im said the parade of four decorated vehicles and a rickshaw, for a two-km distance, will start at 7.45pm from Taman Mutiara to Jalan Jubli Perak, Jalan Bukit Lagi, Jalan Raja Syed Alwi, Jalan Tun Abdul Razak and through downtown Kangar.

In PENANG, Wesak Day state committee secretary Datuk Lim Gim Hin said the Wesak Day celebration will continue tonight with a parade of 30 teams and procession of floats for an eight-km distance, starting (at 7pm) and ending at Jalan Burma which is in front of the Penang Buddhist Association building with an expected attendance of over 20,000 Buddhists and orange-robed monks.

In NEGERI SEMBILAN, Malaysian Buddhist Association state committee member Jonathan Low said 3,000 devotees participated in the procession held yesterday while tonight’s parade will involve five decorated vehicles including horse-drawn carriages and rickshaws.

He said that so far this morning, over 300 devotees came to the Yen Kok Chee Temple in Seremban starting at 8am to perform religious ceremonies including offerings with bouquets of flowers and bathing the Buddha statue in the temple as a symbol of self-purification.

In KELANTAN, among the locations that are in the Wesak Day spotlight are Wat Photivihan in Kampung Jambu, Tumpat which is famous for a Sleeping Buddha or a reclining Buddha statue measuring 40.9 metres long and 10.9m high, in addition to Wat Machimmaram in Kampung Jubakar famed for its sitting Buddha statue.

In PERAK, trustee of Wat Siribunyamagaram Temple in Ipoh, Ching Thoo Kim, 57, said thousands of devotees are expected to attend the procession which is one of the main ceremonies in the afternoon.

In SARAWAK, the prayer hall of the Sarawak Buddhist Association becomes the throng of Buddhists for religious ceremonies in conjunction with Wesak Day, in addition to charitable activities such as blood donation drives.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency