KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 6 — Simpang Renggam MP Maszlee Malik today questioned the identity of the associations that the National Security Council (NSC) had purportedly conferred with before drawing up the standard operating procedures (SOPs) for this year’s Chinese New Year celebrations.

In a Twitter post, Maszlee, who was a minister in the Pakatan Harapan Cabinet, shared a report by news entity Free Malaysia Today (FMT) titled "Minister baffled over Chinese New Year SOP backlash”.

The report had outlined details of a public address yesterday, where Senior Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob claimed the NSC had met with 21 religious, cultural and community-based organisations said to represent the Chinese Malaysian community before coming up with the SOPs.

"I am not sure who are the ‘21 relevant associations’ that the NSC is referring to in relation to the Chinese New Year SOP issue,” said Maszlee.

"What is this New Year lantern parade? Let’s hope no one denies meeting the NSC later,” he added in reference to an attached copy of the SOP in question.

Among the SOPs announced by Ismail Sabri on Tuesday was a ban on lantern parades, which is usually associated with the Mid-Autumn Festival that takes place around the month of September.

Other similar SOPs have also been criticised by the public at large for being out of touch with the cultural realities of the Chinese population in Malaysia.