“Why Is Deepavali Only One-Day Holiday?” Students Can Barely Celebrate With Families In Peace
The one-day Deepavali holiday also makes it hard for families to travel back to their hometown to fully enjoy the celebration with loved ones.
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Malaysia has a multi-racial and multi-religious population so its citizens are blessed with various holidays over the year.
However, the length of public holidays is not the same for all. In this case, Muar MP Syed Saddiq had received a complaint from a student regarding the one-day Deepavali holiday.
The student explained that the holiday for Deepavali or Diwali was too short and most students couldn’t enjoy the celebration because they would have to return to school or work the next day.
“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
The short holiday also meant that they couldn’t go home to celebrate with their families.
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.
Anonymous student
Speaking on behalf of most Indian students, the student humbly requested Syed Saddiq to look into the matter so that they could also celebrate Deepavali with their families in peace.
For comparison, the Chinese New Year and Hari Raya holidays typically last two days. The extra holidays are dependent on each company or workplace.
Why is Deepavali only one day?
In response, Syed Saddiq posed the question online, “Why is the Deepavali holiday only a day?”
He added that the holiday falls on a Monday, and students would have to return to class the next day.
I suggest ‘Keluarga Malaysia’ should make it a bit longer. Make it the same as Raya and Chinese New Year. Pity them.
Muar MP Syed Saddiq
However, not all netizens agree to change the length of the Deepavali holiday. A netizen said the holidays are short because the Indian population is a minority in the country.
It’s sad because some of them said the short holiday shouldn’t be changed because it has always been that way.
There were also those who supported the call for change and asked for all festive holidays to be standardised to be fair to all.
Another user pointed out that although the Indian population is a minority, they are still one of the major races in Malaysia.
Moreover, a netizen said those celebrating Deepavali would need an extra day to prepare for the celebration too.
Kenapa cuti Deepavali sehari je?
— YB_Jonn (@iamjonzs) October 16, 2022
Dah berpuluh tahun memang sehari je cuti dia. Ko jadi menteri kejap hari tu kenapa tak bawa isu ni ke parlimen? Sebab kaum india minoriti kan?
You’re just the same with other politicians 👎🏻
Itu tak adil. Kalau ikut majoriti tentu tentu mereka sedikit nak dibanding cina dan melayu. Tetapi mereka tetap salah satu dari 3 kaum utama di Malaysia. Perayaan mereka hari Isnin, hari isnin beraya dan hari isnin juga nak balik ke kampus/kerja sebab esoknya dah mula?
— tasyriqvito (@tasyriqvito) October 16, 2022
Itu lah isu dia. If possible kasi lah sama. Macam tu lah hal berbangkit.
— Bro Safuan (@ahmaadsafuan) October 16, 2022
Indians need just as much time as the rest of us to prepare and celebrate their holidays. For Raya, we are usually given 2 days or even up to a week to enjoy ourselves. The Indians should be given this as well. We all benefit from these holidays. We all get to go balik kampung😁
— Katie (@Katie25614120) October 16, 2022
Kalau betul betul menyebutkan kerajaan keluarga Malaysia,Hari cuti untuk Deepavali,Hari Raya,Tahun Baru Cina ,Hari X'mas Dan Hari menyambut tahu bari bangsa bangsa lain Di Negara ini mestilah Sama dua Hari
— Richard phua (@Richardphua5) October 16, 2022
Should there be more holidays?
The argument against extra public holidays often boils down to one determining factor: the nation’s productivity.
Most companies argue that the increase in the number of public holidays can affect the nation’s productivity and economy.
However, some also argued that the extra day off is beneficial to overworked employees and they come back to work fresher after the holidays.
This sentiment is supported by an Italian study done in 2014 which found employees were more productive after a holiday because they were rested and relaxed.
So, should there be extra holidays? It’s difficult to pin down the correct answer that will satisfy all parties.
At the end of the day, it’s a great balancing act to keep the nation running and well-rested.
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