Party calls on government to cancel eve of Deepavali parliament sitting to allow Hindus to take part in family reunions and traditional prayers.
KUALA LUMPUR: A DAP leader urged Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak to cancel the parliamentary session on Oct 25 out of deference to the sensitivities of Hindus who will be celebrating Deepavali the following day.
M Kulasegaran, the Ipoh Barat MP, said the eve of Deepavali was when Hindus, in a time-honoured tradition, gather for family reunions and offer prayers to their ancestors.
At a press conference at Parliament house today, Kulasegaran said he was taken by surprise when he learnt that the parliament session has been scheduled for Oct 25.
Also present were Bagan parliamentarian Lim Guan Eng, P Ramasamy (Batu Kawan), Fong Kui Lun the Bukit Bintang constitunecy member and Teluk Intan’s M Manoharan.
Najib had at the launch of the 1Malaysia Indian Students Movement at Universiti Malaya in July, announced that the curriculum and exam schedules would be revamped to ensure that it did not clash with Deepavali so that students can celebrate the festival with their families.
Najib was quoted to have said that the decision was made to resolve the two-decade old problem affecting Indian students who had to miss Deepavali celebrations as their examinations almost always fell either a day before or even on the day of the festival.
“By scheduling the parliament session a day before Deepavali, the government had reneged on its word and deliberately failed in its pledge to look after the sensitivities of the Indian community,” said Kulasegaran.
Where are the MIC reps?
He also took to task government officers involved in planning meetings and urged them to have better knowledge of all national festivals in the country.
Kulasegaran added: “The traffic situation will be massive on all the main roads on the Oct 25. So, it is not a good idea to have a meeting on that particular day.”
Ramasamy, who is also Penang Deputy Chief Minister, slammed the Umno-BN government for scheduling the parliamentary session on Deepavali eve.
“Would they arrange a parliament session a day before Hari Raya Aidilfitri?” asked Ramasamy.
He rapped MIC MPs for not being aware about the session on Oct 25. “What are all the MIC representatives doing?” asked Ramasamy.
Penang CM and DAP secertary-general Lim Guan Eng said DAP will ask Minister in PM’s Department, Nazri Abdul Aziz, and Speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia to cancel the session.
Meanwhile, Manoharan slammed the education ministry for assigning Indian Hindu teachers to check PMR question papers the day after Deepavali.
“It is embarrassing to assign Indian teachers to check question papers when they will be celebrating Deepavali. We want the education ministry to revoke the idea as well,” he said.
KUALA LUMPUR: A DAP leader urged Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak to cancel the parliamentary session on Oct 25 out of deference to the sensitivities of Hindus who will be celebrating Deepavali the following day.M Kulasegaran, the Ipoh Barat MP, said the eve of Deepavali was when Hindus, in a time-honoured tradition, gather for family reunions and offer prayers to their ancestors.
At a press conference at Parliament house today, Kulasegaran said he was taken by surprise when he learnt that the parliament session has been scheduled for Oct 25.
Also present were Bagan parliamentarian Lim Guan Eng, P Ramasamy (Batu Kawan), Fong Kui Lun the Bukit Bintang constitunecy member and Teluk Intan’s M Manoharan.
Najib had at the launch of the 1Malaysia Indian Students Movement at Universiti Malaya in July, announced that the curriculum and exam schedules would be revamped to ensure that it did not clash with Deepavali so that students can celebrate the festival with their families.
Najib was quoted to have said that the decision was made to resolve the two-decade old problem affecting Indian students who had to miss Deepavali celebrations as their examinations almost always fell either a day before or even on the day of the festival.
“By scheduling the parliament session a day before Deepavali, the government had reneged on its word and deliberately failed in its pledge to look after the sensitivities of the Indian community,” said Kulasegaran.
Where are the MIC reps?
He also took to task government officers involved in planning meetings and urged them to have better knowledge of all national festivals in the country.
Kulasegaran added: “The traffic situation will be massive on all the main roads on the Oct 25. So, it is not a good idea to have a meeting on that particular day.”
Ramasamy, who is also Penang Deputy Chief Minister, slammed the Umno-BN government for scheduling the parliamentary session on Deepavali eve.
“Would they arrange a parliament session a day before Hari Raya Aidilfitri?” asked Ramasamy.
He rapped MIC MPs for not being aware about the session on Oct 25. “What are all the MIC representatives doing?” asked Ramasamy.
Penang CM and DAP secertary-general Lim Guan Eng said DAP will ask Minister in PM’s Department, Nazri Abdul Aziz, and Speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia to cancel the session.
Meanwhile, Manoharan slammed the education ministry for assigning Indian Hindu teachers to check PMR question papers the day after Deepavali.
“It is embarrassing to assign Indian teachers to check question papers when they will be celebrating Deepavali. We want the education ministry to revoke the idea as well,” he said.
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