IT is going to be a logistical nightmare for the authorities to prevent devotees from gathering around or following the Lord Muraga chariot to Kuala Lumpur’s Batu Caves temple for Thaipusam, said P. Ramasamy. 

The Penang deputy chief minister II said although the National Security Council has allowed for the chariot to move from Jalan Tun HS Lee Maha Mariamman temple to the Batu Caves temple, the journey would attract devotees despite prohibitions laid by the NSC.

“How the entire journey will be done baffles me. It is well and good to say that there will be no procession, but in reality, this will happen.

“Once the chariot starts with 10 persons accompanying it, will the streets where the chariot pass on both days be cordoned off?

“If the streets are not cordoned off, how will security personnel prevent devotees from gathering or walking along with the chariot?

“Remember, this is a religious event where devotees will want to appear in front of the chariot to keep their religious vows,” he said in a statement today.

Federal Territories Minister Annuar Musa yesterday said the chariot of Lord Muruga can travel to Batu Caves on condition that it does not make any stops along the way.

He said there would be no procession to follow the chariot, but for 10 devotees to follow the chariot, and music is not allowed.

The movement of the chariot will be limited to four hours, and there will be no music or religious songs accompanying the chariot.

He said City Hall would ensure Covid-19 prevention protocols were followed.

The chariot will leave Kuala Lumpur to Batu Caves on January 27 and make its return journey on January 30. Thaipusam falls on January 28.

Ramasamy, who is also the chairman of the Penang Hindu Endowment Board, said the movement of the chariot might have an electrifying effect on the devotees who might set aside health concerns to be near the chariot.

“The occasion itself is of great religious significance to Hindus and the question of keeping them away from the moving chariot might pose intractable problems.

“How is the NSC going to prevent this?

“Did Annuar think about this before giving his approval or still trying to get some Indian support to make up for the lost Malay votes in Umno?”

He said the conditions for the chariot movement were vague, and accused the NSC watering down its earlier strict rules around Thaipusam for political considerations.  

He said it was this fear of being unable to control the crowd that prompted Penang to cancel the Thaipusam festival in the state.

“It is not that we liked to cancel the festival, but the spread of the pandemic and the fear that the crowd might spark off a ‘Thaipusam Cluster’ forbade us to take a saner and more responsible approach.”

Ramasamy reiterated his call for the movement of the chariot to be cancelled in view of the risks of Covid-19 infections.

Thaipusam festival has been cancelled nationwide due to the movement control order which is in place in order to stem the rise of the Covid-19 pandemic. – January 25, 2021.