The government must declare Thaipusam a public holiday in Kuala Lumpur so that city folks can participate in the festival, urged a youth organisation today.

To back its request, the non-profitable Ungalchoice.com has submitted a memorandum with 30,000 signatures to Minister at the Prime Minister's Department Tengku Adnan Mansur last week.

According its chairperson V Rishi Kumar, the signatures were obtained during the Thaipusam celebrations at the Batu Caves temple in Selangor last year.

"Since Selangor has long declared Thaipusam a public holiday, we feel that the government should also similarly announce a public holiday for the people in Kuala Lumpur," he told malaysiakini .

At present, Thaipusam is observed as a public holiday in Selangor, Johor, Negeri Sembilan, Perak and Penang. Many groups, including MIC, have long been requesting the government to declare Thaipusam a national public holiday.

Thaipusam is one of the most colourful Hindu festivals that marks the birth of Lord Subramaniam. It also symbolises good triumphing over evil.

Hundreds of thousands of people will congregate at various Hindu temples, the foremost being Batu Caves and the Waterfalls Temple in Penang, to celebrate this festival. This year Thaipusam falls on Feb 5.

Vegetarian burgers

On the memorandum, Rishi said Tengku Adnan, the minister in charge of Kuala Lumpur affairs, gave his assurance to study the request.

"He was pleased to accept the memorandum and appreciated our efforts for adhering to the proper channel to submit our grievances."

"The campaign for a public holiday for Thaipusam has been going on for many years but this is the first time ever people of all walks of life in Kuala Lumpur have participated and showed an overwhelming support for a signature drive," he added.

Ungalchoice.com (which means 'your choice') was set up last year to gather all Indian Malaysian youths from different backgrounds under one roof to collaborate in communal activities.

Its members, presently standing at about 100, are drawn primarily from local universities and learning institutions.

For this year's Thaipusam festival, the organisation will be handing out10,000 vegetarian burgers at the footsteps of Batu Caves for the devotees.

Rishi said this decision was made as a protest to the selling of non-vegetarian food in the temple compound during Thaipusam.

"This beats the purpose of the holy festival by encouraging devotees to savor non-vegetarian meals on this day," he added.