PUTRAJAYA has given the greenlight for the Thaipusam chariot procession to make its way to Batu Caves next week.

Thaipusam will fall on January 28 this year. 

The chariot will not be allowed to make stops, and no more than 10 people will be allowed to follow it.

The annual temple chariot procession from the Sri Maha Mariamman temple in Jalan Bandar to Batu Caves will proceed as planned, said Annuar Musa.

However, the Federal Territories Minister said the National Security Council in giving its approval had set conditions for it.

The chariot bearing the statue of Lord Muruga will begin its journey to Batu Caves on Wednesday and return to the Jalan Bandar temple on Friday evening.

“The condition is that the chariot will not make any stops, with no more than 10 followers allowed, no music, among others. As usual Kuala Lumpur City Hall will monitor (SOP) compliance,” he said in a tweet.

Last year, during a press conference, Sri Maha Mariamman temple chairman R. Nadarajah had appealed to the authorities to allow the annual procession to take place.

He has said the procession without any stops will only take about four hours from the Jalan Bandar temple to the Batu Caves temple complex.

The chariot will not make stops along the route to discourage crowds.

Thaipusam, dedicated to Lord Murugan, is the biggest festival for Hindus after Deepavali. Millions of Hindus gather for the annual celebration at various temples across Malaysia, the most famous of which is Batu Caves in Selangor.

The date of the festival is determined by the full moon in the month of Thai in the Hindu calendar, which is typically in January or February.

The Penang and Selangor governments had banned the celebration in the states in a move to stop the spread of the Covid-19 virus.

The country now is placed under a movement-control order (MCO). A record daily high of Covid-19 infections were reported today with 4,275 cases.

Today’s record-breaking number comes exactly a week after its highest-ever figure of 4,029 on January 16.  – January 23, 2021.