DEVOTEES from across the country have started arriving at the Sri Maha Mariamman Temple in USJ 25, Subang Jaya, tonight, in a show of support for the temple which came under attack early this morning.

According to eyewitnesses, the scene at the temple looks like a “mini Thaipusam”.

“There are thousands of people here at the temple. They started arriving since this evening,” said A. Selvan who had come from Tanjung Malim.

The crowd which has filtered to the main road opposite the temple, however, largely remained calm. But a small number were seen heckling passing motorists.

Trafiic is now at a standstill due to the crowd.

An activist who had been in the temple during the attack said he hoped the crowd would maintain discipline.

It is uncertain if the crowd would spend the whole night at the temple or return later.

They, however, said they were prepared to face any attackers this time.

At least one Federal Reserve Unit (FRU) troop has been deployed to the scene, including a water cannon truck.

About 2am this morning, a group of people had attacked the temple, injuring devotees who were camped in the temple to protect it from relocation to another site.

The devotees and the activists are involved in a dispute against a developer who owns the land, and are refusing to relocate despite there being an agreement for that.

The police, meanwhile, have arrested 17 people over the attack. – November 26, 2018.