Malaysia has a multi-racial and multi-ethnic community, so Malaysians get various holidays from the different celebrations of different races and ethnicities. Despite being given public holidays, it seems that there is some discrimination when we compare the days given for these celebrations.
Recently, Muar MP Syed Saddiq took to his Twitter page to share a complaint he receive from a student regarding the length of public holiday given for Deepavali.
In the post, the student expressed how most Indian students were disappointed with the government for giving only a day holiday for Deepavali this year.
The student explained that with only one day given for Deepavali or Diwali, they were not able to enjoy the celebration and had to return to school or work the next day.
“It is just one day and we cannot even celebrate our festival as we have class the very next day and most of us cannot even go back home to visit and celebrate it with our family members,” the anonymous student said.
The student then hoped that Syed Saddiq will voice out this issue on behalf of the Indian community.
In comparison, two public holidays were given to the local community for the Hari Raya and Chinese New Year.
Why only one day?
Responding to the matter, Syed Saddiq posed the question, “Why is the Deepavali holiday only a day?”
He then suggested that ‘Keluarga Malaysia’ should extend the public holidays given this celebration and make it the same as Raya and Chinese New Year.
“Kenapa cuti Deepavali sehari je?”
— Syed Saddiq (@SyedSaddiq) October 16, 2022
Itu yang ramai mesej saya.
Ramai students pulak tu.
Isnin cuti, hari esok tu terus kena masuk balik kelas.
Saya nak cadangkan Keluarga Malaysia panjangkan sikit.
Biar sama macam Hari Raya dan Tahun Baru Cina.
Kesian mereka. pic.twitter.com/kj5drJolYY
Mixed opinion
In the comment section, there was a mixed reaction from Malaysians, with some disagreeing to extend the public holiday for the celebration as the Indian population is a minority in the country.
In addition, some netizens said that it should not be changed as it has always been this way.
“It has been years since Deepavali was given only one day of holiday. Why don’t you bring this up in the Parliament when you are the minister? It’s because Indians are the minority right?” another netizen criticised Syed Saddiq.
Cuba kira berapa bilangan yang menyambut depavali di malaysia ni… Kalau bilangan dia majority then wajarlah diberi cuti Ikin untuk sebulan atau dua bulan…
— bondi 15 (@15_bondi) October 16, 2022
On the other hand, many also supported the call for change and urged the government to be fair to all the races living in the nation.
One netizen also pointed out that although the Indian community is a minority, they are still one of the major races in Malaysia.
What do you think about this? Share your thoughts!
