Lee siblings heed SoP, postpone lion dance competition

KOTA BHARU: In complying with the current COVID-19 situation, the Lee siblings are forced to postpone their intention to organise a lion dance competition, which they had been planning to hold in memory of their late father, Lee Kin Khoon, who was an avid lion dance coach.

Though upset, the siblings - Lee Rong Jiang, 33, his sister Lee Her Shin, 30, and their twin sisters Lee Her Wei and Lee Her Li, 26, accepted it with an open heart.

Rong Jiang, who is the president of the Kelantan Xiang Long Culture and Arts Organisation (Xiang Long), said the competition for the Master Lee Kin Khoon Trophy Cup is a biennial event, with the first held in August 2019 at the Kota Bharu Mall here.

"It is a special competition that was organised in memory of my late father, who was very active in the lion dance art industry...it is also to continue his legacy so that this traditional dance will always be remembered by future generations.

"Apart from that, it is also to attract the young people to learn the art and teach them the true meaning of the lion dance," he told Bernama.

He said when the competition was first held, it attracted 19 lion dance groups from various states.

Rong Jiang said his father died on Feb 14, 2019 and since then, he had taken over as president and coach of Xiang Long, which was set up by his father about nine years ago.

“My father was involved in this industry since he was a teenager and he was also very good at Chinese painting and calligraphy. He handed down his skills and knowledge to me and my three younger sisters when we were at a very young age.

"So, we will ensure that whatever we learned from him will not go down the drain,” he said, adding that Xiang Long is active not only in Kelantan, but also in other states in the country.

He said the Chinese New Year celebration this year will not be the same as they could not perform the Lion Dance as they had been doing the previous years.

Normally, two weeks before the Chinese New Year, the group will be busy performing at shopping malls, he said, adding that they normally received 30 to 40 orders to perform and were paid between RM650 and RM1,200 for every performance.

— BERNAMA