Archive for the ‘Religion’ category

son claims dead father is a convert

January 21st, 2008
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Have you ever noticed that these kind of dubious conversion cases seem to happen to people who bed-ridden, terminally ill, unable to communicate properly and so on?

Eldest son claims dead father was a Muslim

source

SEREMBAN: Police yesterday took away the remains of a 74-year-old man from a Chinese funeral parlour near here after his eldest son claimed that the deceased was a Muslim.

Abdul Rahman Gan Abdullah, 47, who had embraced Islam several years ago, lodged a report at the Seremban 2 police station claiming that his father, Gan Eng Gor, had converted to Islam on July 3 last year and had taken the name Amir Gan Abdullah.

When met at the funeral parlour, one of Eng Gor’s eight other children, Hock Sin, said the family was shocked to hear of this.  “When my father died this morning in Klang, I called to inform Abdul Rahman as he was the eldest. The entire family is shocked at his claim.

“We have been practising Buddhists all our lives. How is it that none of us, including my mother who has been looking after my sick father for the past two years, has no knowledge of this?” asked Hock Sin.

Temiang assemblyman Datuk Tiger Lee Yuen Fong and Rahang asemblyman Datuk Yip Chee Kiong, who were at the funeral parlour, appealed to all parties to remain calm and allow the authorities to assess the situation.

They also spoke with Eng Gor’s widow, Chua Chun, 65.

Hock Sin said it was not possible for his father to have embraced Islam as he had been bedridden for the past two years after suffering a stroke. “He could not talk, so how was it possible that he converted?”

State Islamic Affairs assistant director Mohd Yusof Tahir, who arrived at the funeral parlour later, produced copies of a certificate and a card from the department which stated that Eng Gor had embraced Islam on July 3 last year. Abdul Rahman was not present.  Speaking to reporters later, Mohd Yusof said the matter would be heard before the Syariah Court today.

Lee told reporters that the MCA would help appoint a counsel for the aggrieved family. Eng Gor’s remains are being kept at the Tuanku Jaafar Hospital mortuary.

Coconuts for Thaipusam

January 21st, 2008
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 Even though many people call for less coconuts breaking and to use the money for other purposes, the demand keeps increasing!

Supplier orders more coconuts for Thaipusam celebration

source 

PENANG: Instead of the usual 70,000 coconuts, wholesaler Joel Jeyachandran is ordering an extra 15,000 in view of the anticipated increase in demand due to the large crowd expected here this Thaipusam.

“I do not want to disappoint last-minute customers,” said the 23-year-old owner of a coconut wholesale and retail shop in Jalan Datuk Keramat here.

“The orders started to come in a month ago and for the past few days, I have even received midnight calls from my customers asking me if I have sufficient supply,” he added.

Penang Hindu Endowment Board commissioner Datuk K. Kumaraendran announced on Jan 14 that between 800,000 and one million devotees were expected to converge on the island for the three-day celebration starting tomorrow.

Joel reassured the public that there would be no shortage of coconuts this year and the price of his coconuts would remain at 80 sen each.

“While some of the smaller shops might increase the price to RM1 and RM1.10 during the celebration, we are maintaining our price,” he said.

His shop is now stocked with about 50,000 coconuts and the remainder should arrive before Tuesday.

“The coconuts are offerings to the deity and we make sure they are top quality,” said Joel.

He added that any extra coconuts could be kept for Jan 24, when the silver chariot bearing Lord Murugan returns from the Nattukotai Chettiar Temple on Waterfall Road.

“From my experience, some devotees might decide at the last minute that they want to break more coconuts on that day, so the extra will come in handy,” he said.

Joel said some of his relatives and friends had offered to help him with the coconut sales during the festival.

“It is an extra busy time, with Thaipusam falling so near Chinese New Year when there is a high demand for our santan (coconut milk) to make cookies and other delicacies,” he added.

Thaipusam holiday to win back community support

January 20th, 2008
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Just came back from Maran to catch the news and heard that Thaipusam has been declared as public holiday in KL and Putrajaya. The signs were already there since last week. However it is surprising that after so many years of lobbying by MIC and others, the PM seems to realise that Thaipusam causes massive jam in KL and people complaint about it. How convenient indeed! 🙂 Is it some sort of bribery to win back the Indian community?

I suppose after cabinet meeting, it may be extended to few other states with high Indian population like Malacca and Kedah.

What surprises me is that first PM said its to be discussed further, and suddenly we get holiday for two federal territories.

What surprises me even more is that, last year, the government were mulling about reducing the number of public holidays .

Thaipusam declared a public holiday for Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya

By : NST NEWSDESK
source
PRIME Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has announced that the Government has declared Thaipusam a public holiday for Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya. This year’s Thaipusam falls on Wednesday (Jan 23).

Currently, Thaipusam is a public holiday in Negri Sembilan, Perak, Penang, Johor and Selangor.

PM mulls over holiday for Thaipusam

By SHAHANAAZ SHER HABIB and MARTIN CARVALHO

source

newsdesk@thestar.com.my

KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi pledged to the Indian community yesterday that he would consider declaring Thaipusam a national holiday.

The Prime Minister said the annual festival, which falls on Wednesday this year, was nearing and the community was filled with expectations.

Addressing a Ponggal Festival (Tamil New Year) event at Bukit Bintang here last night, Abdullah said he understood and appreciated the meaning of a poem read out earlier by an Indian participant, who called for Thaipusam to be made a holiday.

Part of the poem read:

Sambutan Thaipusam semakin dekat
Warga menanti pengumuman cuti

(Thaipusam is nearing,
The people are awaiting news of a holiday)

The Prime Minister, in a pantun-style reply of his own, said he would have a meeting before making a decision. “I have to hold a meeting before a decision can be made. I promise you, I’ll consider it,” he added.

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

Samy Vellu thanks PM for considering national holiday for Thaipusam

BERNAMA

source

KUALA LUMPUR, SUN:

MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu today thanked Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi for agreeing to consider MIC’s proposal to declare Thaipusam a national public holiday.

The Works Minister hoped the decision could be made at the next weekly Cabinet meeting as stated by the prime minister yesterday. “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,” he told Bernama.

Abdullah had said yesterday he would consider declaring Thaipusam a national public holiday after seeking approval from the Cabinet.

Fewer Stalls at Batu Caves for Devotees sake

January 20th, 2008
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Finally, the committee is starting to look at making it a pleasant experience for the devotees.

Fewer stalls to make it easier for devotees

By : Suganthi Suparmaniam

source

KUALA LUMPUR: The number of stalls at the Batu Caves temple has been reduced to create more space for the crowd to walk as a larger crowd is expected this year.

Temple trustee M. Thevarajo said about 300 stalls would be set up this year, compared with 400 last year. He said the management was working closely with the police to ensure the Thaipusam celebrations proceeded smoothly on Wednesday.

St John Ambulance, the Malaysian Red Crescent Society, Rescue 911 and volunteers will be stationed in the temple premises to assist the public. Extra police personnel would also be at hand.

Gombak acting police chief Superintendent Abdul Karim Abu Hassan said more than 1,000 police and Federal Reserve Unit personnel would be stationed 24 hours at the temple from today till Jan 27.

Abdul Karim said several roads in the temple’s vicinity, including the entrance and exit roads, would be closed to traffic from tomorrow until Thursday. He advised motorists to use alternative routes. The closed roads are a stretch of Jalan Sungai Tua and Jalan Batu Caves Lama, starting from the Amaniah Mosque traffic lights, all the way to Jalan Perusahaan.

The Batu Caves bypass will also be partially closed tomorrow and Wednesday for a chariot parade from the Selayang exit to the junction facing Taman SBC.

Motorists from the north heading towards the east coast can use the Beringin roundabout, going through Jalan 35 in Selayang Baru to Jalan Sungai Tua, passing Kampung Nakhoda, Wira Damai and Taman Sri Gombak to Ampang.

Motorists from the east coast heading towards the north can use the Taman Sri Gombak route, going through Wira Damai, Kampung Nakhoda and Jalan Sungai Tua to the Rawang/KL route.

Penang Silver Chariot

January 20th, 2008
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Silver chariot gets cleaned and polished

source

PENANG: Every year without fail, the 114-year-old silver chariot undergoes cleaning and polishing one month before the Thaipusam festival begins.

Managing trustee of the Nattukotai Chettiar Temple Trustees Datuk N. Ramanathan said yesterday A. Veerapathiran, 73, and his two sons V. Kajendrakumar, 39, and V. Sugumar, 38, have started cleaning and polishing the chariot housed in a shed opposite the Kovil Veedu (Temple House) in Penang Street. Veerapathiran has been carrying out the task for the past 40 years without any charge, as he considers it a service to God.

Ramanathan said a special prayer to Lord Muruga would be conducted at Kovil Veedu at 2am on Jan 21, before the deity was placed on the chariot. The chariot is expected to leave the Kovil Veedu on its journey to the Nattukotai Chettiar Temple in Waterfall Road at 6am.

The 7.3m-high chariot was brought by ship from India in 1894, and was made of wood and is silver-plated. The Chettiar community here commissioned for the silver chariot after the original wooden chariot started showing signs of decay. The new chariot parts, made in Karaikudi, India, arrived here in different shipments and were assembled locally. The wooden chariot was subsequently “sold” to a Lord Muruga temple in Medan, Indonesia.

Ramanathan said a VCD featuring the significance and importance of the Thaipusam festival with a voice-over done in English and Mandarin would be available by end of the year. “We produced one in Tamil in 2005 but found the need to do it in English and Mandarin for the benefit of non-Tamil speaking devotees,” he said. He said among others, the one-hour documentary touched on the rituals and prayers that began one month before Thaipusam.