SINGAPORE, July 23 – Hindus have welcomed the proposal of gazetting the Hindu festival of Thaipusam as a public holiday in Kedah, Malaysia.
President of the Universal Society of Hinduism, Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, said “it is a step in the right direction, although long overdue”.
Zed said the Thaipusam holiday would allow the Kedah Hindu community to celebrate the festival with their families without having to apply for a day off.
It was reported that Kedah was likely to get a public holiday for Thaipusam in keeping with an election promise of the Barisan Nasional.
Thaipusam is already a public holiday in Putrajaya, Kuala Lumpur, Johor, Penang, Perak, Selangor and Negri Sembilan.
Zed also said that Thaipusam should be declared a national public holiday in Malaysia. Thaipusam is also celebrated by Hindus in many other countries of the world.
Hinduism, the oldest and third largest religion in the world, has about one billion adherents.
– BERNAMA
