Najib, Guan Eng pan Kedah's decision to cancel Thaipusam holiday

Former Umno president Najib Abdul Razak and DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng have panned the Kedah government's decision not to have state holiday to mark Thaipusam next week.

Najib in a Facebook post said even though the second movement control order (MCO 2.0) was in place, the festival was still observed by Indians in the country.

"Malaysian states have for decades declared Thaipusam a holiday.

"Even though this year's celebrations are affected by MCO 2.0, there is no need to cancel the holiday as Indian families can still celebrate it at their homes.

"We should retain this tradition, we are 1Malaysia," he said.

Yesterday, Kedah Menteri Besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor reportedly announced that there would be no public holiday in conjunction with Thaipusam since the annual festivities have been cancelled.

This followed the implementation of the MCO 2.0 in the state, which would come into force on Friday.

Nevertheless, prayers in temples are still allowed, but attendance would be limited to one-third of the temple's capacity.

No kavadi carrying or other festivities will be allowed.

Normally, Thaipusam is observed as a state holiday in Johor, Kuala Lumpur, Negeri Sembilan, Penang, Perak, Putrajaya and Selangor.

However, in Kedah, it is marked as an occasional holiday (cuti peristiwa).

Meanwhile, Lim, in a separate statement, said the Kedah government's decision has been criticised as disrespectful to Hindus' religious sensitivities.

"After all, the current Kedah menteri besar was aggressively advocating the demolition of Hindu temples," he added.

The state government has courted flak twice over the destruction of Hindu temples.

Besides Najib and Lim, MIC deputy president M Saravananand Penang Deputy Chief Minister II P Ramasamy have also criticised Kedah'scancellation of Thaipusam as a holiday.