“It is also more cost-effective to have singing contests,” the association’s adviser Datuk Lim Yam Koi told Bernama today.
More than RM2 million is spent annually in Penang to celebrate the month-long festival which will last until September 7. Since the festival began on August 10, many “ko tai” or stage shows had been held at street corners in the city or open spaces in the suburbs.
The festival is celebrated in the seventh lunar month of the Chinese calendar by Chinese communities mostly in southern China, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
They believe that during this month, the “Gates of Hell” are opened to let out the hungry ghosts who then wander to forage for food on Earth.
In the middle of the festival, usually on the 14th or 15th night, food offerings and paper money and incense are burnt outside the house to placate the spirits of the dead ancestors and to ensure good luck.
Stage performances comprising Chinese operas and puppet shows are also held for the wandering spirits, including “Tai Su Yeah” (the King of Hades).
In Penang alone, 218 Hungry Ghosts Festival or “Phor Tor” committees were formed this year among community leaders, traders and residents in various areas to celebrate the occasion.
But in recent years, such committees had resorted to engaging scantily-clad women to sing on stage to pull in the crowds.
Lim said these committees should hold singing contests for the public which only cost about RM2,000 to rent the sound system and cash prizes to the winners as opposed to the showgirls who charge between RM3,000 and RM5,000 to perform each time.
“Singing contests can provide wholesome entertainment for the audience, who include children and the elderly,” he said, adding that he would encourage the “Phor Tor” committees to consider this option as it would also encourage greater bonding with the community.
Lim said he would also encourage committee members to organise more Chinese Teochew and Hokkien operas and puppet shows as such performances not only attracted locals but also foreign tourists, especially with George Town being recognised as a heritage site by Unesco.
The street operas, a popular and traditional form of entertainment for a long time, could also provide a boost to tourism because of their unique cultural features.
Moreover, opera performers only charge between RM2,000 and RM3,000 per show, he said. — Bernama
