KUALA LUMPUR, December 28 — The New Year has always been ushered with colourful displays of fireworks and live performances commemorating the countdown.

With the Covid-19 situation however, operators have come to the decision not to hold events that would attract public gatherings this year to avoid compromising everyone’s safety.

Here are the top spots in Klang Valley which won’t be having any firework displays this year.

Resort World Genting, Genting Highlands

Genting Highlands, among the go-to spots for New Year's countdown events is also shelving fireworks displays. — Picture courtesy of Genting Malaysia

Resort World Genting (RWG) is known for its cool weather and various attractions, but is also amongst the top spots for New Year countdown events.

Due to the current Covid-19 pandemic, RWG will not have any fireworks display this year.

Genting Malaysia in a statement said, "The pandemic has caused an adverse impact on the leisure and hospitality industry and RWG is not spared from the difficulties of these challenging times.

"We have re-engineered our processes to adapt to the new operating environment.”

"We have also created an environment that is safe for all our visitors, employees, business partners and community by implementing stringent safety measures throughout the resort.”

Although there’s no New Year countdown for this year, RWG will still have various offers and attractions available for visitors at the resort.

The Curve, Mutiara Damansara

The Curve as part of the Mutiara Damansara Commercial Centre said that the decision to not hold any fireworks display this year was a collective decision. — Picture courtesy of The Curve

Mutiara Damansara’s shopping mall, The Curve has always jointly hosted the New Year’s celebration with two other malls in the Mutiara Damansara Commercial Centre (MDCC) namely eCurve and the IPC Shopping Centre.

They’ve been commemorating the New Year’s celebrations for 14 years now and have been known for their longest and dazzling fireworks display in Selangor.

The trio of MDCC operators however made a collective decision to not have any New Year’s event or fireworks that could encourage large crowds to gather this year.

A spokesperson of The Curve said, "What’s important for any New Year celebration is to have renewed hope, gratitude, and a positive outlook for the year ahead.

"This time around, The Curve urges everyone to make the safety of individuals, family, friends and the community at large a priority.”

Apart from having to deal with extra expenditures on health and safety measures, The Curve have also restrategised their operations and have been working with their tenants to ensure their shoppers experience remains relevant.

"While 2020 has had its challenges, it has raised the importance of being health conscious, of friends and family, and of the preciousness of time.

"Revitalising the shopping experience and keeping it fresh will be a key focus for The Curve and the retail sector in the coming year.”

IPC Shopping Centre, Mutiara Damansara

IPC Shopping Centre is shifting their New Year's celebration digitally. — Picture courtesy of IPC Shopping Centre

Dataran Merdeka won't be having any firework displays this year as well as they're closed for maintenance works. — Photo by Firdaus Latif

With the joint decision of the MDCC, IPC is shifting their New Year’s celebration onto a digital platform.

According to general manager Karyn Lim, IPC Shopping centre will be organising the ‘IPC Live Shopping Fiesta’, the first 12 hour long Facebook Livestream by a shopping centre in Malaysia.

"Viewers will be able to shop and enjoy special deals, and entertainment by renowned international and local artists.

"There will be 30 over tenants showcasing their products and services during the livestream.

"Shoppers can easily make their purchase within the Facebook platform and have it delivered within 24-hours in the Klang Valley, courtesy of our delivery partner, Lalamove,” Lim said adding that, the first 500 orders will enjoy free deliveries capped at RM20.

As the Covid-19 pandemic and the movement control order (MCO) have impacted IPC Shopping Centre’s overall visitations, this year’s challenges had also presented them new opportunities to further strengthen their online and offline offerings.

"In June, we launched a personal shopper service with GoGet and onboarded our food and beverages tenants on Beep to help them drive additional revenue streams.”

"In the absence of large scale on-ground events, we focused our marketing efforts to digital, partnering with TikTok for our festive celebrations and to also drive sales for our tenants.

"Our hope is that we will continue to innovate and adapt to changing consumer behaviour and diversify our offerings to our visitors.”

"This New Year Eve campaign is just one of the many ways we continue to challenge the traditional mould of retail,” Lim said.

Dataran Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur

The iconic Dataran Merdeka in Kuala Lumpur is also amongst the hotspots for Malaysians in ushering the New Year.

According to a source from Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL), Dataran Merdeka is closed for the time being as it is undergoing maintenance works.

And with Kuala Lumpur and Selangor still under the conditional movement control order (CMCO), public events are still not allowed as stated by the National Security Council (MKN) and the Ministry of Health (KKM).

However, DBKL will be organising a virtual event on New Year’s Eve instead to celebrate the coming of 2021.

The ‘Konsert Ambang 2021’ will feature live performances by Orkestra Kuala Lumpur and also a special appearance by DJ Isma Halil.

The new year’s eve virtual concert is using ‘Wargakota Terus Bertahan’ as their main theme.

Viewers can catch the live performances on DBKL’s official Facebook page and also on Bapakku FM Facebook page, the show will start at 10pm on December 31.