No new year’s eve fireworks or countdown

It will be a new year celebration like no other. Amid the Covid-19 pandemic and the Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO), bidding farewell to this year and welcoming the new year will be a much- subdued affair, perhaps for the first time ever for the entire nation.

There will be no outdoor concerts like before, no fireworks to light up the skies and no groups of friends to sing Auld Lang Syne.

With the standard operating procedures (SOP) still in force, and social gatherings banned, people are likely to bid farewell to this year in the comfort of their own homes.

While most cinemas and entertainment outlets, including night clubs, are closed, city folk are likely to watch the year end culminate under gloomy skies and a silent night as local councils, shopping malls and major tourist spots have called off their annual New Year’s Eve celebrations.

The city, which is under the CMCO, was not spared. Kuala Lumpur City Hall told the New Sunday Times that there would be no events lined up to welcome the new year.

On Friday, Senior Minister (Security Cluster) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced that the CMCO extension for the city would last until the end of the year.

The Ipoh City Council (MBI) in Perak also called off the New Year countdowns and celebrations.

Its spokesman said MBI had not received applications for permits to organise New Year celebrations.

Although the CMCO for the Kinta district was lifted on Dec 14, the control order would still be enforced in Ipoh and Chemor until Dec 31.

The Housing and Local Government Ministry also echoed the local councils’ stance and discouraged large social gatherings to celebrate the new year.

“We are experiencing an exponential rise in confirmed Covid-19 cases. The most effective preventive measures are those aimed at preventing the general public from getting infected. Thus, the ministry will not encourage any large gathering,” it said in a written reply to the New Sunday Times.

Shopping malls in the Klang Valley have also called off their annual New Year celebrations, which would usually entail fireworks and mini-concerts, among others.

The Curve’s management said all of its three malls in the Mutiara Damansara Commercial Centre, comprising the Curve, eCurve and the IPC Shopping Centre, would not organise any event on New Year’s Eve.

“We will also not hold our musical performance for our Christmas campaign this year, which has been our tradition for the last eight years.

“Since the CMCO is ongoing and the number of Covid-19 cases has yet to decrease significantly, we have decided not to hold our events as they would encourage large crowds to gather and possibly compromise the SOP,” its spokesman said.

With Christmas holidays closing in, customers continue to throng the malls but The Curve gave an assurance that its security personnel would stay vigilant to ensure all customers adhered to the SOP.

Likewise, the Menara Kuala Lumpur management has cancelled its annual countdown event, which had raked in a large revenue for them in previous years.

“Our previous New Year’s Eve celebrations attracted more than 1,000 visitors to our Sky Deck, Observation Deck and Tower Terrace. We had an array of activities such as mini-concerts, countdowns, Zumba and food festivals. We were having similar plans for this year, but we had to cancel them following the extension of the CMCO in Kuala Lumpur until Dec 31,” its spokesman said. Nst