MIC deputy president M Saravanan said no other state government, except for Kedah, which is run by PAS, had revoked the holiday.

(Thaipusam is a state public holiday in Johor, Kuala Lumpur, Negeri Sembilan, Penang, Perak, Putrajaya and Selangor. It has been observed as an optional state holiday in Kedah since 2013.)

Saravanan said Sanusi’s claim that he did not intend to deny the rights of Hindus to celebrate Thaipusam did not make sense and was “downright degrading to Hindus in the state”.

He challenged Sanusi to name the three groups of Hindus which Sanusi had claimed to have met before announcing the decision not to declare a holiday. “The menteri besar should have held a proper meeting with all the representatives of the Hindu community, including political parties,” he said.

Earlier today, Sanusi had defended his decision not to allow a holiday for Thaipusam on Jan 28 and questioned the MIC whether the party had ever lobbied for a public holiday in Kedah when the party was part of the Barisan Nasional federal government for decades.

Saravanan said the MIC had always had a cordial relationship with PAS but that this had been tested after Sanusi became menteri besar.

Former MIC secretary-general S Vell Paari said the Thaipusam festival would continue to be observed; although Covid-19 restrictions prevented open celebrations, it did not mean that Thaipusam cannot or would not be observed at home.

He noted that on Jan 14, Malaysian Indians celebrated Pongal (harvest festival) by confining their rituals to the home instead of thronging temples.

“Donald Trump has vacated the White House but this Kedah menteri besar has now adopted ‘Trumpism’,” said Vell Pari. “Sanusi is still upset with the criticism he received over the demolition of a Hindu temple. So what better way to settle the score than this. This is a classic example of bigotry,” he said.