Updates
- Malaysia’s yes to Hindu priests from India (16 April 08)
- Malaysian Hindus seek extended visas for priests, musicians (8 April 08)
Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia has decided to lift an earlier ban and will renew visas and permits for Hindu priests, musicians and temple artisans from India.
Indian origin Human Resources Minister S. Subramaniam said the issue was brought to the attention of the cabinet, which took the decision last week.
‘The cabinet agreed to allow and to extend the services but for special categories only,’ he said in a statement Tuesday.
Subramaniam, who is also the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) secretary general, said he would meet NGOs and Hindu bodies as soon as possible to discuss the categories as well as the guidelines.
MIC president S. Samy Vellu had earlier appealed to the government to lift the ban on the recruitment of priests from India for Hindu temples and Sikh gurdwaras.
Vellu had said the temples and gurdwaras urgently needed about 500 and 300 priests respectively.
The cabinet decision has been well received by the Malaysia Hindu Sangam, The Star newspaper said Wednesday.
Source: http://in.news.yahoo.com/
Malaysian Hindus seek extended visas for priests, musicians
April 8, 2008
Chaitra Shuddha Trutiya
Government of Malaysia is not even ready to extend visa of Hindus needed for Temples in Malaysia, but Congress (Indian Muslim League) Government allows 1.5 crore Bangladeshi Muslims to live in India freely without visas & they also get all facilities of Indian Nationals! Hindus should ask question to Congress about this issue!- Editor
Kuala Lumpur: A group of ethnic Indians in Malaysia have urged the government to review its decision to shorten the visa period for foreign Hindu priests, temple musicians and sculptors. Malaysia Hindu Sangam President A. Vaithilingam said the cabinet’s decision made late last year had seriously affected the temples in the country.
"These foreign workers are specialists and skilled in their respective profession. They are very much needed in the large Hindu temples throughout the country," The Star newspaper Tuesday quoted him as saying.
Vaithilingam said there were more than 17,000 Hindu temples in Malaysia but only about 180 foreign priests and 50 temple musicians.
Before December 2007, temple priests were given five-year visas, temple musicians were given three-year visas and sculptors were given six-month visas.
Vaithilingam said that after December, priests were only given extensions of about a month while sculptors were given extensions of a few days.
The Sangam had explained to the government that it was difficult to train priests from local Tamil youths in a short time because they were required to learn Sanskrit and religious scriptures and remain vegetarians.
Source: http://www.thaindian.com
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