THE Halloween vs Deepavali rages on.
Fresh from some netizens lamenting about 1Utama’s efforts in promoting the former instead of the latter; another mall has been accused of equally dismal endeavours.
TikToker Arwind Kumar (@aforarwind) set his sights on Kiara 163 Retail Mall for what he perceived to be lacklustre decor to greet Deepavali.
Showing a very basic set up, the netizen could not help but wonder why the mall’s management even bothered to put up the so-called kolam décor in the first place.
Instead of highlighting the cultural significance and beauty of the celebration, he claimed that the mall took a so-called “let’s-do-it-for-the-sake-of-it attitude”.
He could not hide his disgust and disappointment when he suggested that if this was the case, the mall shouldn’t even bother.
To be fair, Arwind did not forget to give a shout-out to ‘performing’ malls such as Sunway Pyramd, KLCC and AEON.
Arwind’s tirade was met with a slew of comments.
With some commenters highlighting that some malls had Halloween followed straight by Christmas decor, conveniently eclipsing Deepavali.
More than a few similarly complained of giving “imported” culture prominence over local festivities.
The complaints were not confined to Hindus who celebrate Deepavali with netizens of all faiths highlighting that the colourful decor was very much part of local cultural landscape.
With one highlighting that the Deepavali decorations are indeed an attraction for customers of all ethnicities.
One did highlight that both can be done as most malls will have enough space.
A few even insinuated that this is the result of certain races prioritising their own celebrations to the detriment of others.
One netizen highlighted that it was not just about business but promoting cultural understanding even if the size of the demographic may be small.
Many called out other malls who did the same or were already busy preparing for Christmas or in some cases, Chinese New Year!
While some chose to highlight that this practice was normal south of the Causeway.
Some said those who skip or skimp on Deepavali decorations should be “called out”.
FocusM understands that this move to include Halloween decor is very much a business decision. However, it should not be done to the detriment of other celebrations. Most malls have enough square footage to accommodate both.
Not everything can be put down to ringgit and sen. There is also the matter of goodwill and promoting multi-culturalism to which the malls have an obligation to promote.
With that, FocusM hopes Malaysians of all races are enjoying their Deepavali weekend and perhaps maybe take the time to visit malls that are still in festive mood. – Nov 1, 2024
