If previously ‘Little Beijing’ in Machap Jaya was an Instagrammable place, now the state constituency is once again in the spotlight to record various memorable moments but this time surrounded by thousands of neon lights and an abundance of colourful LED lights at Laman Cahaya Lebaran, Hutan Percha here.
Apart from the decorative Aidilfitri-themed lights, 200 oil lamps have been installed along a 500-metre route heading towards Laman Cahaya Lebaran to enliven the festive atmosphere in the village.
Hutan Percha Rukun Tetangga Area (KRT) chairman Ahmad Syukri Zulkifli said residents here spent more than RM20,000 to create the festive atmosphere using modern and traditional lighting.
He said the initiative that took about two weeks to complete is not only to celebrate Aidilfitri, but helped to strengthen the camaraderie among the residents of various races in the KRT as well as to celebrate with those returning for the festival to the village.
“The public can visit Laman Cahaya Lebaran until May 20. Various sales activities and programmes with the community will be held and these include making lemang and dodol, and weaving ketupat.
“This activity is to bring back the nostalgia of celebrating Aidilfitri. We celebrate this cooperatively here with local residents as well as provide an interesting place for the public, especially the younger generation, to take pictures,” he told Bernama.
Ahmad Syukri said among the challenges in creating Laman Cahaya Lebaran was the risk of being electrocuted in addition to the occurrence of minor accidents when installing the decorative lights in higher areas, but thankfully there were no serious incidents that occurred.
Meanwhile, Machap Jaya assemblyman Ngwe Hee Sem said Laman Cahaya Lebaran is a new tourist product in the state assembly thus celebrating the diversity of festivals that are celebrated by people of various races in this country.
“To celebrate Chinese New Year, there is ‘Little Beijing’ in Kampung Baru Machap Umboo and Kampung Machap Baru while for the Deepavali celebration, we have the same initiative in Taman Pengkalan Indah whereas to celebrate Aidilfitri, we have Laman Cahaya Lebaran.
“This initiative (Laman Cahaya Lebaran) was carried out by the residents themselves in the spirit of gotong-royong (mutual cooperation and goodwill), and can indirectly strengthen unity among the multi-racial population,” said Ngwe, who is also the State Health, Human Resources and Unity Committee chairman.
Meanwhile, visitor Shazrina Ismail, 20, said the decorations and atmosphere at Laman Cahaya Lebaran helped charge up the ‘mood’ to celebrate Aidilfitri after two years of not being able to celebrate it joyfully and openly due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The private company employee said she heard about the site from social media and visited the place with her friends to take pictures.
Salmah Derani, 50, a resident of Machap Jaya said the efforts brought back memories of celebrating the festival in her village in Pahang.
“Joyful…an atmosphere like this is difficult for us to get now, especially if we live in the city. Everyone gathers here and many community activities are conducted together,” she added.
Source: BERNAMA News Agency