SHAH ALAM, May 4 — The Selangor State Government intends to include the Vishu New Year and other celebrations of smaller communities in the official state calendar starting next year as an effort to recognise cultural diversity.

State Executive Councillor (Exco) for Human Resources and Poverty Eradication, V. Papparaidu, said the proposal is aimed at empowering ethnic diversity under the current administration, while ensuring that every community group receives appropriate recognition without anyone being marginalised.

“I will ensure that we can conduct such programmes every year so that no community is left behind, including the Malayalee community who celebrate Vishu. We (the state government) will try to include it in the Selangor calendar next year because my goal is to implement cultural celebrations in a more organised and comprehensive manner,” he said.

He said this at a press conference after attending the State-Level Vishu Celebration Ceremony held at Dewan Azalea, Section 25, Taman Sri Muda, last night.

The colourful ceremony was also attended by the leadership of the Malayalee Association and community representatives from across Selangor.

Papparaidu, who is also the State Assemblyman (ADUN) for Banting, said that organising such programmes is significant in highlighting the unique identities of Indian sub-ethnic groups, which possess their own distinct traditions.

“The Indian community has a variety of unique celebrations such as Vaisakhi, Ugadi, Puthandu, and also Vishu, which is the new year for the Malayalee community.

“Although the Malayalee group is small in number, their language, script, and dance arts are very exclusive and cannot be found in any other part of the world,” he said.

Papparaidu noted that although the distribution of funds is currently on a small scale, he believes the allocation will be improved according to suitability in the future.

According to him, the effort to expand these cultural celebrations is a social responsibility in popularising the agenda of unity, in line with the principles of Malaysia MADANI.

“I believe the state government will review methods to further develop funding and support for cultural programmes like this because our main focus is not just on material value, but the sincerity of the government in joining together to celebrate festivals that can bring joy to the people,” he said. — Bernama