Cinese New Year passes quietly

JAKARTA (JP): Following Governor Sutiyoso's appeal, families of Chinese descent in the city celebrated their New Year quietly yesterday.

A feeling of silence blanketed downtown Glodok, the city's Chinatown in West Jakarta which is a favorite place to buy electronic goods.

Most shops in the area were closed, leaving the streets -- which are normally crowded -- almost deserted.

On Jan. 12, the governor issued an appeal which stated that Chinese New Year (Imlek) celebrations should be celebrated privately with families or at houses of worship.

The appeal also stated that the Chinese New Year was not a Buddhist holiday, and was therefore not to be celebrated at Buddhist temples.

Restrictions on Imlek celebrations have been common since the early 1960s.

Yesterday, for example, there were no special events or Chinese ornaments to be seen in Glodok.

On some streets there were only a few vendors offering Chinese ornaments for the celebration and a small number of adults and children in new dresses and traditional red gowns.

Dozens of families had lunch together in restaurants.

The Dharma Sakti Buddhist temple in Glodok was crowded.

Melina, a high school student who had just finished praying at the temple, said: "After performing this prayer, my family and I will eat lunch together and later wait for relatives to come by. Otherwise, we'll visit them."

However, there were fewer temple visitors than at Chinese New Year last year, said Beny, a guard at the temple.

"I don't know why," he said.

Last week, Toha Reno of the city public order office said new year's celebrations at temples and other public places, such as hotels, restaurants and entertainment centers, were prohibited.

He also said the city had banned any banners, decorations or printed materials related to Imlek.

Liani, a vendor of Chinese New Year ornaments and cookies, said that this year's celebration was not that different to previous years.

"It's almost the same where people prefer to celebrate it privately with their family," she said, adding that she had no idea if her business was illegal. (ind)