Holiday mood pervades Chinese New Year celebration

Holiday mood pervades Chinese New Year celebration

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta/Denpasar

A holiday mood pervaded Tuesday's celebration of Chinese New
Year, with the cessation of many business activities throughout
the capital and Denpasar in Bali. Some opted to go home early
while others, including civil servants and even President
Megawati Soekarnoputri, preferred to take the day off.

Main thoroughfares and business centers seemed quiet during
the celebration of the year of the horse.

All banks remained open, as required by Bank Indonesia, while
the Jakarta Stock Exchange had announced a day off earlier. Many
schools were also closed, following the government's announcement
last year that Imlek was an optional holiday.

Megawati canceled her weekly meeting at the Indonesian
Democratic Party of Struggle headquarters and stayed at her
private residence on Jl. Kebagusan, South Jakarta. She is
scheduled to attend the national celebration of Chinese New Year,
or Imlek, on Sunday at the Bung Karno Sports Complex in Senayan,
Central Jakarta.

Vice President Hamzah Haz continued with his official visit to
Bengkulu to inaugurate a Muhammadiyah elementary school.

The House of Representatives also canceled its two planned
meetings. The building itself looked empty.

Denpasar, the capital of holiday destination Bali, became a
ghost town as most people chose to stay at home, enjoying their
"optional" four-days off.

The holiday began on Saturday when the Balinese celebrated the
Hindu festival of Saraswati, the goddess of knowledge. Monday was
actually not a holiday, but many decided not to go to work.

Nevertheless, not all places were quiet and devoid of any
activity on Tuesday.

Several vihara (temples) in Denpasar bustled with the spirit
of joy and celebration. The Chinese started to flock to temples
from early morning onward to celebrate Imlek with prayers and
offerings.

"This place is full. Streams of people are arriving
continuously and I believe it will go on until tonight," said
Suwung, an employee at Griya Konco Tanah Kilap temple. The temple
is a place of worship for both the Chinese and the Balinese.

Shopping centers, hotels and temples in Jakarta also turned
bright with colorful Chinese ornaments. Chinese-themed
performances -- barongsai (lion dance), liong (dragon dance),
wushu (Chinese martial arts), fortune-telling and Chinese
traditional music recitals -- could be enjoyed at malls and
hotels.

Many revelers visited temples around the city, taking with
them, flowers, fruit, candles and incense.

Vihara Dharma Bhakti -- one of the largest vihara at Petak
Sembilan in Kota's Chinatown, West Jakarta -- was packed with
thousands of visitors.

"Thank God we can celebrate it solemnly after all the recent
calamities," said Ahong, a private company employee, referring to
the recent floods.

Karim, who prayed at one of the oldest temples in Indonesia,
Vihara Dharma Jaya Toasebio in Kota, said his family would
celebrate Imlek in a modest way. "After praying, we will visit
our relatives to greet them," he said.

Chinese people traditionally visit their families and are
expected to present unmarried teenagers and children with ang-bao
(red envelopes containing money from married people).

"I got Rp 10,000 (97 US cents) from my aunt, Rp 20,000 from my
father and a surprising Rp 50,000 from my grandmother," said
Fulai, a student of St. Maria elementary school in Jatinegara,
East Jakarta.

The New Order government banned overt manifestations of
Chinese culture, and it was not until Abdurrahman Wahid became
president in 1999 that the Chinese started to have the freedom to
enjoy it.

Unfortunately, the government seems to have forgotten to
address the larger issue of discrimination against the Chinese.
The effort to revoke discriminatory government regulations,
conducted by the State Secretariat, has slowed down without any
follow-up.

The government has been reviewing about 50 regulations on
discrimination against ethnic and religious minorities, but the
issue does not have high priority at the moment.

Even Abdurrahman's suggestion to declare Imlek a national
holiday has still to be put into action.