National MP Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi says there is no danger in carrying symbolic dagger.

Parliament's first Sikh MP says there needs to be legislation around ceremonial daggers so it's clear they are not weapons and are safe to be worn.

National MP Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi said the biggest issue for Sikhs is being able to wear a kirpan - a short dagger that symbolises a Sikh's duty to come to the defence of those in need - at their workplace and at public events.

The Government is considering exempting kirpans from civil aviation rules - allowing them to be carried on board planes rather than stowed away with luggage.

CHRIS WATTIE Gurbaj Singh Multani wears a ceremonial dagger, known as a kirpan.

Prime Minister John Key addressed the loosening of the rules around kirpans at a meeting at the Takanini Gurdwara in Auckland on March 8.

On Saturday seven Sikh cricket fans were barred from watching India play Zimbabwe in a Cricket World Cup match at Eden Park because they were wearing kirpans.



While Key said the ICC made their own rules around the tournament, he did sympathise with the Sikh community regarding kirpans.

Maximum freedom for Sikhs to practise their religious beliefs and wear kirpans should be set out in law, says Labour's ethnic communities spokesman Phil Goff.

"In other countries, such as India, Canada, the United Kingdom and some Australian states, legislation has been passed recognising this right."

He said while safety needed to be considered - other countries have proven that the "right by law to carry the kirpan has not caused problems".

"If the Prime Minister is serious about what he has said, he should instruct his Justice Minister to draft legislation accordingly.

"A select committee can then hear submissions from all parties to determine what, if any, restrictions are needed," Goff said.

When Bakshi became an MP in 2008 he informed then Speaker of the House, Lockwood Smith, that he carried a kirpan and was given permission to wear it in Parliament.

Bakshi also gets approval from the Speaker when he has members of the Sikh community visiting him at Parliament, making them exempt from security rules.

"Kirpans have sometimes become controversial but I haven't seen any Sikh using a kirpan for any harm of anyone else," he said.

"Every baptised Sikh is supposed to have five articles of faith to obey everyday and the kirpan is one of those. It's traditionally 3 feet long and held by religious leaders but baptised Sikhs can wear a smaller version and we wear it under our clothing, not exposed to anyone."

Bakshi said carrying a kirpan at all times is a big deal to Sikhs and sometimes there's a compromise when it comes to flying.

"Some people are very strict at following the rules and don't fly - in India they'll travel by road, they won't fly. There are people who will wear a symbolic one, a smaller version, which is allowed on airplanes."

He said Sikhs are "sensible" people who wouldn't use a kirpan inappropriately.

"We are very law-abiding people and we believe in the rule of the land."

Bakshi has been pulled up for wearing his kirpan at the airport but has a small one that meets civil aviation requirements, which he wears to avoid any problems.

Key said other countries, including Australia and the United Kingdom, had legislated civil aviation exemptions and he was open to New Zealand doing the same.



"There's a process they'd have to go through and I've said to them I'm not unsympathetic and we should look at it."

"My understanding is the kirpan, for the most part, is a very small, blunt instrument. If you want to make the case that someone could cause harm with that - they're probably much more likely to cause harm with anything else you can get at the grounds."



He said a wine bottle from Koru Club would pose just as much risk when boarding a plane as a kirpan.

The Supreme Sikh Council who met with Key about the rule changes felt their members being banned from the cricket was "blown completely out of proportion", spokesman Hardayal Singh said.

"Kirpans are never used as a weapon, or even as a knife. They're only used for religious functions."

Singh said he and many other Sikhs had been to plenty of games in the past and kirpans had not been an issue.

"This was a case where one member of the Sikh community was identified and on that particular day the kirpan was seen as a weapon."

"The group had to choose between the cricket match or their faith and that's a simple decision for a lot of people."

Singh said kirpans are never taken on board planes at the moment and in most cases they're put into checked-in luggage.