JOHOR BARU: About 500,000 participants and spectators are expected to throng the Johor Baru city centre here to witness the upcoming Chingay parade.
Johor Baru South OCPD Asst Comm Raub Selamat said more than 2,700 police personnel would be on duty throughout the five-day Chingay Festival from this Saturday (Feb 15) until next Wednesday (Feb 19).
“We will also station more than 2,000 police personnel on the actual day of the parade, which will take place next Tuesday (Feb 18), to take care of road closures and ensure public safety.
“The police will be supported by about 200 Rela personnel and 100 Johor Baru City Council enforcement officials as well,” he said in a press conference at Wisma Tiong-Hua here on Wednesday (Feb 12).
ACP Raub said that the roads in the city centre would be closed in phases to give way to the century-old celebration.
“Roads such as Jalan Ulu Ayer Molek, Jalan Yahya Awal, Jalan Lingkaran Dalam and Jalan Wong Ah Fook will be closed in phases staring 5pm next Tuesday until 3am the following day to make way for the parade.
“Since large crowds are to be expected throughout the festival, I advise the public to remain vigilant and follow the rules at all times.
“Avoid provocation or getting into fights as stern action will be taken by the police against those who go against the law,” he added.
He said certain roads would also be closed for a few hours on the other festival days and urged road users to follow traffic instructions.
Meanwhile, festival organiser, Johor Baru Tiong-Hua Association president Ho Sow Tong said they have anticipated a larger volume of participants and spectators this year as Malaysia and Singapore will be jointly nominating Chingay into the Unesco intangible cultural heritage list in March.
“The slogan for the Johor Baru Chingay parade, which is more than 150 years old, this year is ‘Road to Unesco’ in conjunction with our joint nomination attempt.
“In addition to locals, we have invited teams from China, Singapore, Philippines, Thailand and Taiwan to participate in the event,” he said.
Ho added that some 80 floats and 21 lion and dragon dance troupes would parade along the 8km route with devotees and deities from the five main dialect clans that are housed at the Johor Ancient Temple here.
By Yee Xiang Yun
