KUALA PILAH, Jan 30 — The Si Thian Kong Temple here with its spectacular decoration of colourful LED neon lights to usher in the Year of the Tiger, is a sight to behold.
Many are expected to throng the temple at night to see up-close the beautiful display of the lights adorning the building which has its historical values and is a symbol of pride for the Tionghua community here.
Over 2,000 Chinese lanterns in various shapes and sizes have also been put up to compliment the giant tiger statue and other Chinese New Year decorations at the temple.
Si Thian Kong Deity Devotees’ Association acting chairman, Tee Kim Hai said the temple was previously known as Sam Seng Keong Temple, located at Kuala Pilah town before being moved to Jalan Tampin Kuala Pilah in 2009.
“The construction of the temple on a 4.8-hectare site and surrounded by nature was completed in 2015. The over 100-year-old Sam Seng Keong temple has been closed since then,” he told Bernama recently.
Tee said the temple’s picturesque archway and stone carvings have attracted visitors from all walks of life, including newlyweds who would come almost every week for their outdoor wedding photography sessions.
In conjunction with this year’s Chinese New Year celebrations, he said between 500 and 1,000 devotees are expected to visit the temple under strict compliance of the standard operating procedures (SOP).
However, Tee said only 30 people are allowed at any one prayer session which is limited to 15 minutes.
“Careful preparations have been made over the past six months. Although the temple has it ample space, we still need to limit the number of visitors as we do not want to trigger a new Covid-19 cluster,” he added.
He said only fully vaccinated devotees are allowed to enter the temple and they are required to observe physical distancing and wear face masks at all times. — Bernama
