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27 April 2008 | General | Si Pin

Firstly I would like to apologise to all my Indian friends that I’ve completely forgotten about the Indian New Year on 13 April 2008 up until last night. May I wish you a good ‘Chittirai Puthandu Valthukel’ to all my Indian Friends and comrades and also to all my Indian supporters in Batu.

After 39 years in existence, race relations have not teach me enough about the sensitivity of being a good Malaysian Citizen, a good ‘anak’ of Bangsa Malaysia. I hope this does not come late to you.

Last night, I attended among friends, a gathering of upwards of about 500 people who anxiously waited to see the dances and performances of the ‘Chittirai Puthandu Kalai Iravu’. The voluteers of the Indian Bureau of the Persatuan Penduduk Sri Perak took great pains to organise the event to celebrate the new year for their community. It was also a platform at the same time to allow the children of the residents of Sri Perak whom have done remarkably well in their studies to ’stand out and be counted’. We supported them by giving them hampers and ‘wang saguhati’, as a way to spur them on to greater heights in the future.

It was such a heart-warming event, where the old and the young gathered to laugh and eat together. Somewhere in between when we heard the muslim prayers called on from the nearby Masjid Amru Ibni Al-As, we stopped all forms of entertainment as a mark of respect until the prayers were finished. It was great fun and one could feel the sense of ‘Bangsa Malaysia Muhibbah-ness’ in the whole atmosphere.

I hope to be able to go to more of these cultural events to learn about the myriad intricacies of the Malaysian cultural fabric. Come join us in the future. I’ll be posting the venues as and when I get to know them.

Have a happy week ahead!