IPOH, Feb 10 – When L. Manimaran, 57, and Ooi Mei Kim, 50, got married in 2005, they would never have thought that their mixed marriage would have strengthened their bonds of love over time.
Manimaran and Ooi came from different religions and cultures which were initially awkward for them to embrace, but with the passing of time, they said it was truly ‘practice makes perfect’.
“Every time Chinese New Year comes around, I gather with my wife’s family to celebrate it. Similarly, when it is Deepavali, my wife celebrates it too,” said Manimaran.
The father of four said this to Bernama when met at a restaurant for the reunion dinner on Friday ahead of celebrating Chinese New Year on Saturday.
Manimaran, who works as a part-time photographer with a local media here, said due to their mixed marriage, all their children have mastered five languages namely Malay, English, Tamil, Cantonese and Hokkien.
Meanwhile, Ooi said their intermarriage allowed her and her husband to learn and understand each other’s traditions.
“At the beginning of our marriage, I admit that I was a bit awkward when it came to my husband’s religion and customs, and would ask him if I had done anything wrong, said Ooi, the third of four siblings.
“It was the same for my husband. He would refer to me if he didn’t know something or wanted to know about something. This actually helped us to be more open and positive in addition to being able to accept each other’s cultures.”
The Ipoh-born Ooi said preparations for the Chinese New Year celebrations have been scaled down after her mother’s death in 2020, and the reunion dinner is now held in restaurants instead of at home like before.
“After my mother died, we celebrate the festival simply. When my mother was alive, every time Chinese New Year came, she was one who was busy making preparations for the reunion dinner.” she said.
“In those days, my mother made it a point to celebrate the reunion dinner at home and not in restaurants like today.”
Meanwhile, the Perak Community Specialist Hospital (PCSH) held a special reunion dinner for its patients.
Its chief executive officer Nicholas Chan in a statement said the hospital considers their patients part of the PCSH family and want them to feel loved.
One of the patients who only wants to be known as Seow, 61, expressed his heartfelt gratitude to PCSH for arranging the reunion get-together so that patients would not feel left out this Chinese New Year.
“I personally feel that it is amazing how small things can brighten up someone’s day and at PCSH, it is amazing how they actually take steps to ensure it,” he added.
Another patient who only wants to be known as Amiruddin, 22, said he was happy that PCSH actually took the initiative to ensure that all their patients felt the joy and warmth of Chinese New Year.
