Malaysia is known to have many public holidays throughout the year, depending on the state you’re living/working in. Thaipusam happens to be one of those public holidays, however, it is only celebrated in several states.
A couple of days ago, it was announced that this year, the Kedah state government approved a public holiday for the Thaipusam celebration on 25th January. This then led to the proposal to make Thaipusam an annual public holiday in the state but unfortunately, that’s not going to happen. Here’s why:
Yesterday (Thursday, 4th January), Kedah’s menteri besar Datuk Seri Sanusi Nor responded to the Malaysian Indian People’s Party (MIPP)’s proposal of making Thaipusam a fixed public holiday in the state, informing that the idea has been rejected. According to his statement, Kedah’s public holiday “quota” had already reached its limit for this year.
“Why are we always thinking about wanting more holidays? Businesses will be unhappy with so many holidays. Go and work. Many other states do not have public holidays for Thaipusam,” he told reporters. However, Sanusi did not specify the number of public holidays in Kedah’s quota and also who exactly determines the quota system. Netizens were left confused and disappointed after the news broke out.
Many were baffled that there was a even “quota” for public holidays in Malaysia and demanded a more detailed explanation regarding the system. Others accused the politician and the state government of being racist for not considering non-Muslim citizens’ holidays. A few defended the rejection saying that the population of Indian people in Kedah is small and that it wouldn’t be practical for them to celebrate the Thaipusam holiday unlike those living in the city area.
At the time of writing, Sanusi Nor has yet to address the backlash by netizens regarding the Thaipusam holiday. Are you surprised that there was a quota system for public holidays? Do you think the reasoning for rejecting the proposal was reasonable?
