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Hadi Azmi

A calendar clash of festivals in multi-racial Malaysia, with Diwali and Halloween falling on the same day, has spurred debate over the rise of imported culture at the expense of local customs and faiths as malls dedicate more space to pumpkins and ghouls than oil lamps and peacock feathers.
Diwali is observed by Malaysia’s 2 million Hindus as well as its small Sikh population. Celebrating the triumph of light over darkness, the festival falls on October 31, the same day this year as Halloween, a festival with roots in Europe but popularised by American culture.
With malls playing the role of quasi-town squares in Malaysia, the optics of which community’s festival gets the best decoration and displays longest can get thorny among the country’s 34 million population of different ethnic groups.
This year, dismay over Halloween has united people across Malaysia’s social media. Citizens from all backgrounds questioned the growing obsession with the Western holiday, calling on businesses to prioritise local festivities over imported celebrations.
“It’s appalling to see the darkness overshadowing the light,” said Facebook user Paul Netto, referring to the contrasting theme of Diwali and Halloween’s “spooky season”.
“I have nothing against Halloween, but we should know our priorities and culture.”

The irony was not lost on many, with one Wilson Lim calling mall operators “ghouls” for preferring “to celebrate ghosts than celebrate the triumph of good over evil”.
Although Halloween is familiar to Malaysians through its depiction in Western television shows and films, it is not widely celebrated in Malaysia apart from groups within the American and European communities, mainly in Kuala Lumpur and nightclubs hosting Halloween-themed parties.
Kamini Singgam, a banker, said that malls were competing with each other to attract big spenders.
“But they did not realise that Indians too have deep pockets, but malls never cater to them,” Singgam told This Week in Asia.
Unlike Christmas, with its gift-giving tradition, social media users have pointed out that Halloween does not contribute significantly to retail revenue as most party-goers rent or buy their costumes cheaply online and at discount stores.
Others meanwhile quipped that Malaysia has its ghost festival, the Hungry Ghost Festival, which has little commercial impact on the country’s malls despite its large ethnic Chinese population.
“Why are only white ghosts receiving recognition?” Kavitha Veera Vijayan joked.

Malaysia is not the only Asian country grappling with the growing popularity of Western customs. In Japan, officials in Tokyo have imposed restrictions against Halloween celebrations in the capital’s popular Shinjuku and Shibuya districts, with large signs announcing “no events for Halloween” there.
Nonetheless, some malls in Kuala Lumpur have given Diwali its due.
Suria KLCC, beneath the Petronas Twin Towers, featured a large Kollam – an intricate design made from coloured powders, rice, or flower petals – in the middle of its central atrium alongside a life-size effigy of an elephant, an animal associated with good luck and longevity in Indian culture.
Meanwhile, a local insurance company went viral for its unique Diwali celebration, featuring Indian drummers performing in a glass-covered lorry as it drove through Kuala Lumpur.
The cross-cultural solidarity over Diwali has moved lecturer Roslind Thambusamy.
“To all the non-Indian netizens who have shown concern over this issue, a heartfelt thanks,” she said in a Facebook post.


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Halloween’s rising popularity in Malaysia has sparked calls on local businesses to prioritise local festivities over imported celebrations


Halloween’s rising popularity in Malaysia has sparked calls on local businesses to prioritise local festivities over imported celebrations.


Halloween

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Malaysians decry Halloween overshadowing Diwali in date clash of festivals

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Halloween’s rising popularity in Malaysia has sparked calls on local businesses to prioritise local festivities over imported celebrations

Halloween’s rising popularity in Malaysia has sparked calls on local businesses to prioritise local festivities over imported celebrations