About 3 months ago I went for Cheng Beng, it is a chinese event where people pay their respects to their ancestors and past relatives or loved ones. After you have paid your respects and have 'fed' them, the ritual ends in the same way for most families; burning items for the deceased such as money, clothing, appliances, mansion, cars, maids (no wonder Indonesia imposed a temporary ban on Malaysia...just kidding I meant paper maids), etc. How is this ironic to me about Penangnites? I am coming to that now. Penangnites are afraid of cancer, almost everything that can cause cancer is shunned by us. Take the recent Wimax proposal by our state government that caused and uproar among the citizens about the health risk of getting brain cancer by the mass radiation. If that is the case then stop using radio and electrical appliances and start wearing lead helmets when you want to leave the house, better yet radiation suits my fellow Penangnites. Despite the fear of getting cancer by state government proposals, during the final tributes to the deceased, Penangnites just do not mind inhaling burnt plastics. Here are two pictures taken at the burning ground:
Take a good sniff
What is more appalling is that most Penangnites even burn the tributes with the plastic wrappers on. Even more weeks before Cheng Beng, gravesite caretakers will burn the overgrown grasses and drivers along the road will have to face burning debris and the smell of the burning fence's plastic insulation. I am not sure if the residents around the area mind inhaling those fumes every year, I guess after years of smelling burning bodies from the nearby crematorium has made their senses immune. In a way the state government is saying yes to open burning and we will just have to live with the unenforced regulations. It would be interesting however to see the state government taking a proactive approach about our environment issues by banning the use of plastics in such products but then again the manufacturers and sellers will take advantage of the situation by increasing the price to justify their switch to more 'expensive' alternatives. Since brother Lim wants to develop Penang into a high tech state, it would not hurt to turn it into a greener state as well. Malaysia like to show the world that 'hey, we can do it too', Penang could be amongst the first states to go 'hey, we can do it too and we did it right'. Attitude of devotees will also have to change by being more rational and disposing plastic bags responsibly. I wonder is it the same in the other states? Hmmm...
P.s: People often burn paper tributes in forms of electrical products ranging from mobile phones, televisions, Ogawa massage chairs just to name a few but I have not seen anyone burning 'electric power stations', 'power lines', 'telecommunication transimition station' so imagine how frustrated those receipients are. Imagine having cigarettes but nothing to light it up and why burn 'credit cards' when there neither banks nor credit card machines to use it, heck even more so when devotees burn trillions worth of hell bank notes, why even bother using a credit card? XD Point to ponder.
P.s: People often burn paper tributes in forms of electrical products ranging from mobile phones, televisions, Ogawa massage chairs just to name a few but I have not seen anyone burning 'electric power stations', 'power lines', 'telecommunication transimition station' so imagine how frustrated those receipients are. Imagine having cigarettes but nothing to light it up and why burn 'credit cards' when there neither banks nor credit card machines to use it, heck even more so when devotees burn trillions worth of hell bank notes, why even bother using a credit card? XD Point to ponder.
No comments:
Post a Comment