Compiled by ZAKIAH KOYA, C.ARUNO AND R.ARAVINTAN
THE Indian community is annoyed but not surprised at the latest bungling of the special Deepavali arch in Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Nanban reported.
The community feels that the Deepavali festival is accompanied by controversy almost every year due to the lackadaisical attitude of the authorities or private companies.
This year, the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) is embroiled in a controversy for putting up an arch and other banners around the city with the wording “Happy Diwali” instead of “Happy Deepavali”, which is widely used in Malaysia.
MIC deputy president Datuk Seri M. Saravanan said he had written officially to Federal Territories Minister Hannah Yeoh to correct this.
The majority of the Indian community in the country are of South Indian origin, and they refer to the festival as Deepavali, said Saravanan.
The word ‘Diwali’ is of Hindi origin which is a language spoken by those of North Indian descent. Furthermore, the festival is listed as Deepavali in the Federal Gazette, he said.
He had also referred the matter to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Traditional South Indian cultural elements in Deepavali celebrations such as food, music and dance are being replaced by imported elements more and more, he said.
The community must ensure their culture is respected and preserved, added Saravanan.
(The above articles are compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with a >, it denotes a separate news item.)
