<![CDATA[Coronavirus: Malaysia marks Ching Ming, minus the tomb sweeping]>

As Malaysia heads into its third week of a national movement restriction order in a bid to stem the spread of Covid-19, ethnic Chinese families across the country are seeking alternative methods to mark Ching Ming, or Tomb-Sweeping Day, a traditional ceremony that centres on reverence for ancestors.

Also called "Cheng Beng" in Malaysia, the festival " held on April 4 this year " calls for families to meet to clean grave sites, pray to deceased family members and make ritual offerings " all ceremonies requiring close contact, forbidden under Malaysia's partial lockdown which prohibits social and religious gatherings.

But enterprising funeral homes and restaurants have figured out several workarounds in the time of Covid-19, allowing Malaysians to observe the occasion in a more muted way.

Some restaurants are offering special "memories of ancestor" meals, while funeral parlours have implemented differently priced packages that include either photos of prayers (the lowest-tier package) or, if you are willing to fork out more cash, a live stream of proceedings " what research analyst Gabriel Chen called "an absolute win".

"It leverages on technology to remain filial, plus revenue for monks and funeral parlours that otherwise wouldn't be able to make money during the lockdown," he noted.

These measures, said government officer Quek Yew Aun, were a "creative way to fulfil duties as descendants".

"Though I have my criticisms about the whole process being commodified, at the end if the service puts the living at ease, why not? Companies should not take advantage and the descendants should not feel pressured. The dead would understand."

Quek, 28, travels to his hometown on the East Coast of Malaysia to observe Ching Ming every year. However, this year because of the lockdown his family held simple prayers at his grandmother's house in the capital, Kuala Lumpur.

"Staying alive to remember the dead is more important. To me, the dead should not be offended because their descendants would be riskingtheir lives and those of the people around them if they travelled to pay their respects."

Politicians like Malaysian Chinese Association president Wee Ka Siong and religious associations have also urged Malaysians to stay at home.

"Once this medical crisis is over, we can all continue to honour our ancestors at their final resting places next year," Wee said.

Paper offerings sold during Ching Ming. Photo: SCMP / K.Y. Cheng alt=Paper offerings sold during Ching Ming. Photo: SCMP / K.Y. Cheng

The Malaysia Buddhist Association offered alternatives to visiting grave sites, such as simple prayers at home or offering food at ancestor altars within the house.

"Pray from your home and pray that your ancestors will protect you and your family from the dreaded Covid-19," suggested the Federation of Taoist Associations.

Some, like human resources manager Chua Kim Lin, 58, are still hoping there will be time to observe the ceremony if the lockdown is lifted as scheduled.

"This year we are unable to go due to the lockdown. We will pray from home in a simplified manner," he said, adding that it was more important to be filial year-round, and stay home due to the coronavirus outbreak, which has seen over 3,000 cases in Malaysia so far.

His son, Ryan, pointed out that if the lockdown ended by April 14 as planned, "we can still make preparations to do it in the weekend after".

Both father and son, however, are not fans of the digital prayer streaming service.

"I find it very odd to be doing that, mostly because I think my family and I see Cheng Beng as an opportunity to visit my elders in the afterworld and relatives in the real world. So we would be less enticed to try such services."

Some major funeral homes, such as Nirvana Asia, are notproviding online tomb-sweeping services for this reason.

"Our company emphasises preserving traditional Chinese culture. However, as we are currently in unusual times,our company encourages social distancingto keep everyone safe," it said. "We believe that filial piety can be practised not only during Ching Ming, but also throughout the year as it is the thought that counts."

Qing Ming or Cheng Beng is also known as Chinese All Souls Day and includesobservances where family members burn "hell money" or other paper offerings to provide for their ancestors in the afterlife.

Some of the more unusual paper offerings include luxury cars, girlfriends for ancestors who had a "wandering eye", luxury handbags and electronics.

Other Malaysians are turning to charity to mark the occasion, such as Chin, who declined to give his full name.

"We are sponsoring meals in the names of the deceased under the #MakanKongsi initiative organised by NGOs Bersih 2.0 and Engage here, which ensures that vulnerable communities " indigenous people, single mothers, cleaners, foreign workers, refugees and the homeless " receive at least two meals a day," he said.

"There is this concept called 'forwarding merit' in Buddhism, meaning to do good deeds in someone's name so that the good karma goes to them."

This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (SCMP).

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