It’s the third day of Shawal. The bliss and joy of Hari Raya can still be felt, especially by those who are still celebrating it at their hometowns with their extended families and relatives. Many are still singing or humming to the tune of the favourite Hari Raya song by the late Sudirman Hj Arshad, “Balik kampung… ooo… balik kampung… ooo balik kampung, hati riang…”
The enjoyment of Hari Raya is definitely doubled or tripled for the majority of us who have not been able to celebrate Hari Raya in our hometowns for the past two years due to the Movement Control Order (MCO) imposed by the Government. In a day or two, the highways and the Federal roads will be congested again because all these “anak kampung” will be heading back to Kuala Lumpur to return to work.
However, the Hari Raya celebration will not stop there. Again, after two years of refraining from hosting Hari Raya open house for neighbours, relatives and friends, this is the time to do so. Soon, the people of Kuala Lumpur will experience traffic congestions, every weekend in the month of Shawal, due to the increase in traffic caused by people attending Hari Raya open houses.
In our happiness and joy of celebrating Hari Raya in the “old” normal—the hometown and the open house—do not forget that we are celebrating it in the transition phase – from pandemic to endemic phase. During this phase, the virus is still around us. It’s just that more people have gained immune protection from vaccination and from natural infection, and therefore, transmission will be less and so will COVID-19-related hospitalisation and death. Thus, in celebrating our “victory” for being able to fast for the whole month of Ramadan, please adhere to the COVID-19 SOPs so that we will not be infected nor infecting others.
Organising a Hari Raya open house is a very commendable act in Islam. It has many praiseworthy elements such as preparing and offering food for guests; providing a platform for people to meet and get to know each other; for those who already know each other it allows them to meet and catch up on things; it also allows the host to give “duit raya” to children as gifts or sedeqah, etc.
However, since the open house is held during the transition phase, we need to adhere to the SOPs in order to reduce the risk of infection, both to the hosts as well as the guests. This can be done in many ways. Firstly, schedule the arrival time for the guests so that they will arrive in staggered time. For example, from 12noon to 1pm, 50 guests consist of neighbours from the same street. Another 50 guests comprise colleagues and friends from the office for the next hour. Then, another 50 consist of relatives who live in the Klang Valley for the third hour. Inform the guests about the schedule so that they will arrive and leave within the time allocated for them.
Secondly, practise social distancing in arranging the tables and chairs for the guests. Spatially placed round tables are more convenient as compared to a few long tables that are put closely together.
Thirdly, serve food at several food stations to avoid congestion at one long food station. Finally, do self-test for COVID-19 before the event to ensure that we and our family members are healthy to host the open house.
If the hosts have to abide by the SOPs, so do the guests. If we are invited to an open house, take the following measures so that we do not infect others at the event, and at the same time, we are not infected by others. Do a self-test to make sure that we and our family members are healthy to attend the open house. If the host has scheduled our arrival time, please follow accordingly. If the host has arranged the tables and seats to be far from each other, do not move them in order to be closer to your friends and family. Be patient when helping yourselves with the food to avoid congestion at the food stations. Use hand sanitiser as often as possible. Take leave when the time is up. Don’t forget to thank the host and make prayers (du’as) for them.
For some of us, we have not been able to celebrate Hari Raya with our extended families back in our hometowns for two years. Alhamdulillah, this year we are able to do so. We need to be grateful for this opportunity. One way of expressing our gratitude is by taking the abovementioned measures when organising or attending Hari Raya open houses so that we can curb the risk of spreading COVID-I9. Selamat Hari Raya. Maaf Zahir Batin. Drive safe. Ziarah safe.