While it is considerably quieter this year, Geylang Serai was reminiscent of past festivities for a while last night.

Permission granted to do so

Permission was granted by the Singapore government for decorative lights situated at Geylang Serai to light up from 8:20pm to 10pm on May 23.

Here's what it looked like:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CAiSy7khPBY/

A Mothership reader shared some photos of the sight as well:

The lights are also quite gorgeous to look at in the day:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CAic5Tdj8Ei/

https://www.instagram.com/p/CAh4hy8nIsn/

A sign of appreciation

In a special segment of the evening news on Berita Mediacorp on May 23, Environment and Water Resources Minister Masagos Zulkifli said that permission was granted to do so.

The light-up was a sign of appreciation for the Malay-Muslim community for going strong throughout Ramadan and contributing actively to keeping other Singaporeans safe.

Masagos noted that Ramadan has been very different for the Malay-Muslim community in the midst of the pandemic.

He hopes that the festive lights will give the community the spirit and ambience of the festivities, even if just for a while.

Masagos added that if things go well, the lights along Geylang Serai will be lit up in full for a few weeks after CB measures are eased.

Here is Masagos' translated message in full:

In conjunction of the upcoming Hari Raya celebrations, my Malay parliament colleagues and I have some good news. We have been given permission to light up the decorative lights in Geylang Serai for a while tonight.

The government gave us permission as a sign of appreciation for the Malay-Muslim community for going strong throughout Ramadan which has been very different this time and for being actively contributing to keeping other Singaporeans safe.

The Geylang Serai light-up is organised by the Geylang Serai Community Club and Wisma Geylang Serai.

Please enjoy the clip live from Geylang Serai.

I hope this Hari Raya light-up that has been really special will give us the spirit and ambience of Hari Raya, just like the previous years, even though it may be a while and enjoy it from your television screens.

If things goes well, the lights along Geylang Serai will be lit up fully for a few weeks after the circuit breaker measures are eased.

Together, we hope for the best.

Thank you for playing your part to fight the Covid-19 virus and for ensuring our safety.

Top image via Masagos Zulkifli's Facebook page