The Dewan Rakyat will not sit on Oct 25, the eve of Deepavali, and will observe the public holiday for the festival on the next day.

Announcing this prior to the start of Question Tme this morning, speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia said this was based on a request from Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.

Hindus observing Deepavali perform prayers for their ancestors on the eve of the festival, and also make preparations to hold ‘open house’ during the Festival of Lights.

Last week Pakatan Rakyat parliamentarians had criticised the scheduling of a parliamentary sitting on the eve of the festival as the lack of awareness among government officials in scheduling events.

In a statement this afternoon, Ipoh Barat MP M Kulasegaran welcomed the move but wants those who fixed the original sitting dates to be reprimanded. 

"Those responsible should be hauled up and briefed on the need to be sensitive to the various festivals in our country," he said.