Sunday, January 20, 2008

Thaipusam To Be a National Holiday?

UPDATE (Sunday, Jan 20, 7pm)

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has declared Thaipusam a public holiday in the federal territories of Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya from this year.

Thaipusam falls on Wednesday (Jan 23).

Bernama quoted the PM as saying that the government made the decision "in respecting the request of the Indian community and the Hindus in the country".

Thaipusam is currently a holiday in Selangor, Penang, Perak, Negeri Sembilan and Johor.

Read the Bernama report here.

Also, what Rocky has to say in his Bru, here.

And Barisan Nasional gets the Indian votes, says MIC president S Samy Vellu who thanked the PM for that decision to declare Thaipusam a holiday in KL and Putrajaya.

Read here.

MY EARLIER POSTING:

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has given an assurance that he will consider declaring Thaipusam a "national public holiday" after approval from the Cabinet.
MIC president S Samy Vellu has thanked the PM for this.

Here's the rest of the Bernama story datelined Kuala Lumpur, Sunday, Jan 20:

"It will be a long-awaited decision to have Thaipusam declared a national holiday or even a public holiday for the Kuala Lumpur Federal Territory," Samy Vellu told Bernama.
Samy Vellu said he contacted Abdullah in Madrid from New Delhi recently to request him to consider declaring Thaipusam a public holiday and this was followed with an official letter to the prime minister.
Abdullah was in Madrid for an official visit while Samy Vellu was in New Delhi to attend the People of Indian Origin Conference.
Samy Vellu said the MIC has been asking for Thaipusam be declared a public holiday for more than a decade "but now we are confident our request will be fulfilled".
He said Thaipusam is currently a holiday in five states, namely Selangor, Penang, Perak, Negeri Sembilan and Johor.
"More than 1.2 million Hindus converge at Batu Caves every year for Thaipusam from all over the country. As such, it will be good if Thaipusam is declared a national public holiday," Samy Vellu said.
Samy Vellu said he raised the matter with the Federal Territories Minister Datuk Seri Zulhasnan Rafique at the last Cabinet meeting to have Thaipusam declared a public holiday at least in Kuala Lumpur.
"I will raise it again at the next Cabinet meeting," he added.

7 comments:

Rockybru said...

Ah, Ena, this is a wonderful posting. By the time you read my comment, I would have done a one myself to report that Pak Lah has declared Jan 23 a national public holiday. But that's not why your posting based on this article is wonderful. It is wonderful because you can read how Malaysia's own Uncle Sam is anticipating to take credit for this latest holiday.

Note that he TOLD Bernama (which tells me the story was not solicited)how he called the PM in Madrid when he was in New Delhi to request that Thaipusam be made a national holiday instead of a state holiday. Not enough, he wrote the PM an official letter (which he no doubt will display as proof).

Wah, what were both of them doing when both of them were in Kuala Lumpur? Why did they have to make us taxpayers pay for their expensive trunk call to talk about Thaipusam?

Please note that Kit Siang has also asked the PM to declare Thaipusam a national holiday. He said DAP has asked for it for decades!!

Anonymous said...

thats what hindraf can do, no? anyway, happy THAIPUSAM to all Hindus in Malaysia.

Anonymous said...

Honestly, I have run out of adjectives to describe such a shameless mongrel.

Anonymous said...

Already declared a public holiday.

Sunday, 20 January 2008
(The New Straits Times) - PRIME Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has announced that Thaipusam is to be declared a public holiday for Kuala Lumpur.

Anonymous said...

Thats the way!

Declare a holiday for a small territory (FT KL and FT Putrajaya) and sit back to feel satisfied that all the problems faced by the Malaysian Indians are over.

Problems like:

a. Unemployment amongst this segment of the Msian population still in the many estates in Kedah, Perak, Seberang Perai, Pahang, Johor etc

b. Demolishing of temples in other states, except Selangor where the MB has given a grace period of around 60 days? (after which the acts continue?)

c. One or two seats only for medical students in Malaysian public varsities. The rest must beg and borrow to send the kids overseas - only to be told half way that such universities are not recognised by the Msian government

d. Body snatching of so-called converts who die, without having consideration for the emotional disruption to families of Hindus who are threatened by 'pious' enforcement agnecies like RELA.

e. Mysterious deaths of the able bodied ones who are invited to police stations for questioning only! Ploice reports lodged against such police action - relocated to eternal KIV folders!

f. Shareholders of MAIKA Holdings, after 20 over years cannot get back their capital, but assets bought with such money are regularly sold and the proceeds never make their way back to the shareholders!

You want the list to go on?
I may run short of single alphabets to itemise them.

And this idiot Semi-value thinks he has done a fantastic job of getting another public holiday for Indians and has thus solved all their problems?

Wow, kalau macam itu, why do we need the NEP to help out the poor? Let there be more public holdays declared every year. That way, NEP can be phased out!

Everyone will be happy - truly Malaysia Boleh, no more Malaysia bodoh.

Anonymous said...

its all hindraf rally after effect.lembu punya susu, semi value sapi dapat nama!

Anonymous said...

A well-oiled and orchestrated "all is well-wayang and the rakyat must be grateful to BN script" from Barisan's concubine mainstream media and the dacing boys is a spectacle of the "feed them crumbs" and they will "muda lupa" who we really are tactic.

This so-called convenient Thaipusam as "national" holiday gift is an insult to both Malaysian Indians and thinking citizens of the country.

As a nation independent for fifty years, non-Muslims have been treated as some sort of second-class entity that needs to beg on bended knee for what the Constitution gurantees.

Nevertheless,the Constitution has been ammended over several hundred times in that it has become as soiled as yesterday's nasi lemak bungkus.

Such posturing and so-called "gift" of holidays is a Barisan election gimmick that will no longer work. It will not conceal the unlawful detention of human rights ativists and political dissidents under the ISA.

Carrots and crumbs will not "tutup mata" rakyat nor will the corrupt practices of the Barisan regime be eclipsed.