The Negri Sembilan government has called off its state-level Deepavali celebration as a mark of respect for the six people who perished in a fire at the Intensive Care Unit of the Sultanah Aminah Hospital (HSA), Johor Baru on Oct 25.

Menteri Besar Mohamad Hasan said the decision was made during a state exco meeting chaired by him at Wisma Negeri, Seremban, today.

"This is to respect the tragedy that occurred at HSA which claimed many lives, and one of the victims is from Negri Sembilan. So, we will not celebrate the festivity this time around although preparations had been made," he told reporters today.

Mohamad hoped that the people especially those celebrating Deepavali can understand and accept the decision by the state government.

"This is because we don't want to be seen as inconsiderate and insensitive," he said.

C Neeramala Devi, 24, from St Helier Plantation, Bahau near Seremban was one of the victims while five others who died were K Logeswaran, 20; Choo Lin Fung, 37; Tow Ah Wah, 60; Yusuf Hasan, 53 and M Kaliama, 23.

- Bernama