WITH National Unity Minister Datuk Halimah Mohamed Sadique saying there will be no Thaipusam procession next month, the Malaysia Hindu Sangam (MHS) said they were still in the midst of discussing the matter with the authorities.
“MHS and several other Hindu non-governmental organisations (NGOs) had a meeting with the National Unity Ministry and other officials on Dec 2 to discuss on how to go about the festival.
“But as far as I know, the discussion was at the preliminary stage and the officials told us clearly that the National Security Council (NSC) is the final authority on the matter,” its president Datuk RS Mohan Shan told FocusM.
Earlier today, Halimah told the Dewan Rakyat that the Government would not be allowing Thaipusam procession to take place due the threat posed by Omicron variant of COVID-19.
She added that her team had prepared a list of standard operating procedure (SOP) for the festival, which falls on Jan 18.
“We cannot allow the chariot procession to take place in light of the new COVID-19 variant,” she said, adding her ministry officials had met with various stakeholders earlier this month.
“The proposed SOPs will now be brought to various committees to look into the details. The meetings on this will be held from Dec 13 to 15,” Free Malaysia Today reported her as saying.
Touching on the previous meeting, Mohan Shan said that many NGOs made various suggestions to the ministry officials on how to go about celebrating Thaipusam, while safeguarding public health at the same time.
Among the suggestions made, he added, was to allow a procession to take place but only from one point to another, without making pit stops anywhere else.
“The ministry suggested for only 10 people to follow the procession but we told them we need to allow 50 people.
“This is because 10 people is not enough to manage a procession as we need manpower to do certain things like carrying the idol to the chariot and others,” Mohan Shan noted.
Public health matters
The veteran NGO leader also said they requested the Government to allow people to carry kavadi, albeit with restricted number of people, instead of only allowing paal kuddam (milk offering) to take place.
On that note, Mohan Shan acknowledged that it was impossible for the Government to meet all the demands made due to the threat of Omicron.
“Many people during the meeting told Government officials that they will manage the crowd on their own but let’s be pragmatic. It’s impossible to control a crowd once they come in.
“And an official from the Health Ministry, who was present in the meeting, made it clear to us on the dangers of the new COVID-19 variant which I totally agree,” he mentioned.
Mohan Shan remarked: “At the end of the day, it all depends on the NSC. Our job is just to put forth ideas on how we can celebrate Thaipusam safely during the pandemic crisis.”
Thaipusam is a widely celebrated occasion among those who worship Lord Murugan. It said that this was the day his mother, Goddess Parvathy gave the former a powerful spear to annihilate demon Soorapadman and his kins.
Some sections celebrate the day as they believe it was Lord Murugan’s birthday and the festival is celebrated grandly in countries like Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Mauritius and Trinidad and Tobago. – Dec 7, 2021
