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Subscribe in a reader | Subscribe to poobalan.com by Email More crowd expected in other venues due to boycott of Batu Caves.
100,000 to flood temple
By DHARMENDER SINGH
PORT KLANG: A flood of requests from devotees this year has compelled the 160-year-old Sri Balasubramaniar Swamy Temple here to celebrate Thaipusam on a grand scale for the first time, with an expected crowd of 100,000 kavadi bearers and devotees. » Read more: Batu Caves crowd to shift to other temples
| Subscribe in a reader | Subscribe to poobalan.com by Email According to MHS:
Malaysian Hindu Sangam president Datuk A. Vaithilingam said the Hindus here are definitely happy as the organisation had been appealing for over 20 years for Thaipusam to be declared a holiday for the Federal Territory.
Wonder how long MIC being asking for it.
Thanks to Hindraf Rally, the wish is granted in 2008! Of course, having an election around the corner plays a role too.
Worst is NST who attributed the success to MIC (Headline screams: Holiday for KL, Putrajaya thanks to MIC’s efforts). In Malay, there is a proverb – “lembu punya susu, sapi dapat nama.” (the cow’s milk, but buffalo gets name).
The news came out early when PM hinted that cabinet will consider the proposal to declare Thaipusam as public holiday, when he attended the Ponggal Festival celebration at Bukit Bintang. It became reality when he announced it on Sunday evening.
Hindu groups welcome holiday
KUALA LUMPUR: More Hindus will be visiting temples throughout the country now that Thaipusam is a public holiday in Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya.
Malaysian Hindu Sangam president Datuk A. Vaithilingam said the Hindus here are definitely happy as the organisation had been appealing for over 20 years for Thaipusam to be declared a holiday for the Federal Territory. He urged Kedah and Malacca to consider similar appeals for Thaipusam to be declared a holiday there as both states have a considerable number of Hindus.
A Hindu NGO, Mamandram, also welcomed the good news. Mamandram president Prof N.S. Rajendran said the declaration is timely and apt.
source
KUALA LUMPUR: Starting this year, Thaipusam will be an annual public holiday in the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi announced this yesterday to cheers and thunderous applause from thousands of Indians and Barisan Nasional supporters.
He said the decision was made after several calls were made by the MIC to have Thaipusam declared a public holiday in Kuala Lumpur.
“Yes, (Datuk Seri S.) Samy Vellu kept asking for Thaipusam to be made a public holiday, especially in Kuala Lumpur. Moreover, every year during Thaipusam, the roads in Kuala Lumpur become very congested,” he said.
Also present were Federal Territories Minister Datuk Seri Zulhasnan Rafique, Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil and Deputy Home Affairs Minister Datuk Tan Chai Ho.
Thaipusam is currently a state holiday in Selangor, Penang, Perak, Negri Sembilan and Johor. Thaipusam is also celebrated at the Sri Subramaniar Temple on the Cheroh mountain in Ipoh, Perak and in Jalan Waterfall in Penang.
Meanwhile, Malaysian Hindu Sangam president Datuk A. Vaithilingam welcomed Abdullah’s statement. He added that for more than 20 years, Hindus had been asking for this.
Vaithilingam also appealed to Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid and Malacca Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam to gazette Thaipusam as a public holiday in their states as there was a large number of Hindus who visited Sungai Petani and Malacca to celebrate the festival.Thaipusam holiday for KL and Putrajaya
By JANE RITIKOS and MARTIN CARVALHO
KUALA LUMPUR: Thaipusam will be a public holiday in Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya.
Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who announced this yesterday to more than 20,000 people from the Indian community at MIC’s Gathering with the Prime Minister at the Badminton Stadium in Cheras yesterday, said he had considered the request by the MIC to declare Thaipusam a public holiday. “We discussed this matter. They said that during Thaipusam there would be traffic jams everywhere in Kuala Lumpur and it is difficult to get to work. So let it be a holiday,” he said to cheers from the crowd.
Thaipusam, which falls on Wednesday, is already a public holiday in Selangor, Penang, Perak, Negri Sembilan and Johor.
The crowd starting cheering and clapping even before he made the announcement. They cheered as soon as he first brought up the subject by relating how the Indian community at the Ponggal event in Bukit Bintang on Saturday night had reacted excitedly when he promised to consider their request.
When the crowd cheered, he said: “Why are you all cheering?” and the people replied: “Cuti! (Holiday).” “But we must continue to work. When it is a holiday, we have a holiday. But when it is time to work, we must work hard. Promise this, promise this,” he said.
MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu thanked Abdullah for the public holiday in Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya. “The Hindus in Malaysia have been waiting for a long time for such good news, and I hope they will not be disappointed,” he said.
He told reporters that although a national holiday had not been declared, the MIC was happy with the news. He added that the party would forward its appeal for the event to be declared a public holiday in Kedah and Malacca to the states’ mentri besar and chief minister respectively.
Earlier in his speech at the gathering, Samy Vellu said the MIC had also brought up the Thaipusam holiday request with Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and Federal Territories Minister Datuk Seri Zulhasnan Rafique.
He added that MIC was confident the Indian voters would steadfastly remain with Barisan Nasional. “Let us show to the country that the Indian community fully supports the Prime Minister. We will swim or sink with Barisan,” said Samy who called Abdullah “our leader and the leader for all Malaysians”.
Samy Vellu admitted that there were still many unresolved grievances within the Indian community. “At the heart of the problem are many issues related to delivery and implementation by the civil service and local governments,” he said.
He took to task “certain political forces” trying to weaken Indian representation in the Government.
| Subscribe in a reader | Subscribe to poobalan.com by Email 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
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.
| Subscribe in a reader | Subscribe to poobalan.com by Email 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 .
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
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.
BERNAMA
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.
| Subscribe in a reader | Subscribe to poobalan.com by Email Finally, the committee is starting to look at making it a pleasant experience for the devotees.
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.
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