GEORGE TOWN, June 13 — Wushu, lion dance and dragon dance management teams in Penang have been told to apply to reopen their training centres.
Penang Youth and Sports Committee chairman Soon Lip Chee said today that the respective groups must fill up a notification form at the Ministry of International Trade and Industry’s (MITI) website at notification.miti.gov.my before being allowed to reopen their training sites and to resume operation by June 15.
He said these groups could also contact the Penang Wushu, Lion and Dragon Dance Association for assistance in the application.
“Once the application is approved, the said group must strictly comply with the standard operating procedures (SOPs) provided by the National Security Council,” he told reporters, adding that there are 98 training sites in Penang.
He said that some of the general SOPs included sanitising equipment before and after use, ensuring coaches and operators to wear face masks, as well as the restrictive use of extra facilities such as sauna or massage room.
He also said that trainees must maintain social distancing of between one to three meters when doing static exercises, while maintaining a distance of between three to five meters for dynamic exercises.
“During training sessions, coaches can only give instructions to the trainees verbally as they are not allowed to have any physical contact,” he said.
He added that the capacity limit of the training grounds as well as facilities such as changing and showering room varies depending on the size of the venue.
Meanwhile, Penang Wushu, Lion and Dragon Dance Association president Datuk H’ng Ban Choon, who was also present in the press conference, hoped that some of the competitions may be able to proceed this year.
He said that if the Covid-19 pandemic in Malaysia continued to be well under control and the Recovery movement control order (RMCO) was lifted according to plan, there would be a possibility to organise contests some time between December 2020 and January 2021.
“But for now, we hope our life would return to normal by the end of August,” he added. — Bernama
