Procession proceeds despite heavy rain

Huge crowds of people line up along the road to see the procession pass by. — Photos by Othman Ishak

SIBU: The heavy downpour failed to dampen the spirit of the huge crowd and participants at the grand procession held in conjunction with the opening of the new Ur Par Wang Kong Temple in Deshon Road here.
The procession proceeded from Sibu Town Square Phase 2 at 5.30pm last Friday.
Led by temple committee chairman Yeo Keng Teck and organising chairman Ling How Kang, the gathering was a colourful event and was participated by over 80 contingents of mostly temple delegates from throughout the country.
Other participants included lion and dragon dance troupes, a chingay troupe from Bintulu and a group from Sheng Zhi Shen (Guan Gong) Temple with the longest dragon for the event.
Yeo said: “The grand procession is part of the three-day celebration to mark the opening of the new temple costing over RM5 million. More than 500 delegates from various temples in Peninsular Malaysia are converging here. The number does not include temple delegates from East Malaysia.”
He said the event was the second grand procession after their previous one in July 2012, when they launched the soft opening of the new temple and the placement of 43 new deity statues in the new house of worship.
The construction of the new Er Par Wang temple, built to replace the old one at the same site, began in 2008 and was completed in 2012.
Yeo said: “The procession route covers Bujang Stutong Road at the town square, Kampung Nyabor Road, Ramin Way, Wong Nai Siong Road, another section of Kampung Nyabor Road, Central Road, Workshop Road, Khoo Peng Loong Road, Temple Street, Island Road and back to the town square.”
According to legend, Er Par Wang is the second of the nine sons of deity Dou Mu, collectively known as ‘Kow Ong Yah’ in Hokkien dialect, meaning Nine Princes.
Worshipping Dou Mu and his nine princes is common among the Hokkiens throughout the world.
As there is a large Hokkien population in Malaysia, there are 60 Kow Ong Yah temples in the country.
The new Er Par Wang temple at Deshon Road has become one of the top four Chinese temples in this town.

The other three are Tua Pek Kong Temple built 150 years ago by the first Chinese settlers, Jee Sai Pek Temple in Bukit Assek Road and Jade Dragon Mountain Temple in Oya Road.
These four temples have rich Chinese cultural heritage dating back thousands of years and have been recommended as must-visit destinations for foreign tourists.
The history of Er Par Wang Temple in Sibu dates back to 1969 when it was set up on the upper floor of a shop house at Lane 9, Lanang Road.
Yeo recalled, “In 1972, the temple’s building committee was formed, and land at the present temple site in Deshon Road was donated by a worshipper.”

He said the first temple at Deshon Road was built in 1982 and completed the next year.
Yeo said they needed a bigger temple as the number of worshippers had swelled over the past three decades.