KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 13 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has extended ‘Pongal’ (harvest festival) greetings to Malaysians celebrating the event.

"As the Malaysian Indian community welcomes the auspicious month of Thai which signifies a new beginning, I take this opportunity to wish our Indian brothers and sisters a very blessed and prosperous ‘Ponggal Vaalthukal’,” he said in his Facebook posting.

Considered one of the most important and popular Hindu festivals, Pongal is all about thanking nature for its gifts of the harvest season and takes its name from the Tamil word meaning ‘to boil’. — Bernama