MIC Demands 'Deepavali' Restored Over 'Diwali' in KL — SkimNews
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- Kuala Lumpur City Hall erected festive arches wishing the public a "Happy Diwali" for the Hindu festival of lights, which is a gazetted public holiday in Malaysia.
- M. Saravanan, deputy president of the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC), accused the authorities of erasing the traditional terminology and wrote to Hannah Yeoh, minister in the PM's Department for Federal Territories, asking her to restore the legally gazetted name "Deepavali."
- Saravanan argued "Deepavali" is the term used in southern India — particularly Tamil Nadu, where most Malaysian Hindus trace their ancestry — while "Diwali" is associated with North India.
- The MIC suffered a historic drubbing in the 2018 general election, losing its status as sole representative of Malaysia's 2 million Hindus as Indian voters shifted toward Pakatan Harapan, the Democratic Action Party, and People's Justice Party.
- Samy Vellu, MIC's supreme leader, lost the parliamentary seat he had held since 1974 in that election.
- Critics view the controversy as a calculated bid to generate headlines and regain political relevance, arguing the party should instead address forced Hindu temple relocations and economic disparities facing Malaysian Indians.
Why it matters: The MIC, Malaysia's historic representative of 2 million Hindus, is using a spelling dispute over a gazetted public holiday to claw back relevance after losing its electoral monopoly in 2018 — a maneuver critics say distracts from substantive issues like forced Hindu temple relocations and economic disparities facing Malaysian Indians.
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