Compiled by ASHLEY TANG, C. ARUNO and R. ARAVINTHAN

       A WOMAN in Negri Sembilan who resorted to livestreaming prayer items for sale during the Hungry Ghost Festival has received rave reviews from shoppers, Sin Chew Daily reported.

       Shirley Wan, a former designer who worked in the advertising line, was forced to seek opportunities elsewhere when the pandemic hit.

       She decided to try her hand at selling products via livestream.

       Her initial livestreaming experience began with the sale of vegetables and durian. This venture, however, is Wan’s first attempt at promoting prayer items online.

       “I took the initiative to get in touch with business owners (selling prayer items).

       “I wasn’t very confident in the beginning as these are usually items sold in traditional brick-and-mortar shops. I was surprised to find that the business owners were very open to the idea,” she said.

       Wan’s background in advertising and sales is obvious from her livestreams as she displays a flair for attracting views online.

       Dressed in a traditional yellow Taoist priest’s robe, Wan can be seen explaining the use of the prayer items being sold, including the various kinds of joss paper money and incense sticks, as she shares history about the festival.

       Wan admitted that the decision to dress as a Taoist priest was done through trial and error.

       She explained that her earlier attempt at creating a horror-themed livestream backfired as not many Internet users were willing to engage with such content.

       She said she would try to use as many auspicious phrases during her livestream and avoid taboo words such as “ghosts” and instead, politely refer to them by “good brothers”.

       “In terms of livestreaming, I’m still new to the game. There is still much I can improve on. I hope to receive everyone’s views and feedback,” she said.

       The Hungry Ghost Festival falls on Aug 22 this year.

       > The Federation of Chinese Associations Malaysia (Huazong) is urging the government to extend a moratorium on loan repayment and waive the interest accrued for industries with zero income due to the pandemic, reports China Press.

       Its president Tan Sri Goh Tian Chuan said operators in the tourism and the cinema industries, as well as the ever-expanding B40 income group, should be given special allowances in terms of loan repayments.

       Goh also urged banks to be proactive in helping industries without an income at the moment as well as those within the lowest income bracket.

       “With many having lost their income, banks should act as a ‘big umbrella’ and widen their reach to protect customers who are already facing problems from being further buffeted by the storm,” he said.

       The above articles are compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with a >, it denotes a separate news item.