Krathongs set Titiwangsa lake aglow

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THOUGH it rained that evening, it did not dampen the spirits of some 200 people who turned up for the Loy Krathong festival that was organised for the first time in Taman Tasik Titiwangsa by the Kelantan, Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Siam Association (Pesila).

A total of 500 krathongs were released into the lake to symbolise the washing away of bad luck, anger and even sins. This took place after an evening of Thai cultural performances.

Albert Mah, 58, a security company manager who has been going to the festival for the past five years brought along a krathong he had bought from the Siamese Buddhist temple called Buddha Jayanti that he goes to.

Colourful array: People releasing their krathongs into the lake.

“I treat the RM30 I gave the temple for this krathong as a donation to them.

“Every year I wish for the same thing which is good health, happiness and peace for my family,” Mah said.

He has never tried making his own krathong but has seen some hand­­­made ones using material from banana trees.

Five housemates who heard about the festival from a friend from Kelantan and with Siamese heritage, even made their own krathongs for the festival.

“It took us about two days and about RM5 per person to make these krathongs,” Kua Weenie, 18, said.

A helping hand: Noordin (centre) getting some help to light up his krathong.

The university students said they wished for luck, particularly in their studies.

Pesila president Epan @ Suwanlerd Pro Poul (Panya Chindapnet) said there were about 50,000 Siamese descent Malaysians now.

“Most have ancestors who are Siamese and have been living in the peninsula for a few hundred years. We try our best to maintain our culture and heritage,” Epan said.

He said Loy Krathong was a cultural event and had nothing to do with religion and started about 800 years ago in the province of Sukothai that was part of Siam and is now known as Thailand.

Though there are a few legends on how the festival first started, the generally accepted one is that the people wanted to thank the Water Goddess Phra Mae Khongkha for the water they used in their daily life.

Here goes: A man pushing a large krathong into the lake.

This year, about 500 krathongs were released into the lake, a number that has been growing smaller for the past two years.

He said other cultural associations had expressed an interest in collaborating to make the event a bigger one next year.

The guest of honour at the event was Persatuan Anak Anak Kelantan Darul Naim Malaysia (Pakatan) president Datuk Dr Noordin Abdul Razak.

He said although the Siamese community in Malaysia was a minority, they were not immigrants.

“The Government should support such events and help us promote our culture. Though the Siamese people have integrated into the local community, most still maintain their culture like the Loy Krathong,” Noordin said.