GEORGE TOWN: The famous dual chariot procession, bearing the statue of Lord Murugan, during Thaipusam in Penang is most likely to be cancelled next year to prevent any mass gatherings amid the threat of Covid-19.
The procession of the over 100-year-old silver chariot and the recent golden chariot is the highlight of the annual three-day Thaipusam celebration in the state.
Penang Hindu Endowment Board (PHEB) chairman P Ramasamy said the state will have a series of meetings to discuss on how to manage Thaipusam next year amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Our priority is on the safety of all devotees as chariots are the ones that pull in the crowd. Once you have a chariot procession, the crowds will be very difficult to control. We do not want Thaipusam gathering to spark off any new cluster,” he told Bernama during an interview here.
Ramasamy, who is also the Penang deputy chief minister said the PHEB will take responsible consideration on the matter and make a careful decision in the interest of the larger public.
“We have yet to decide on whether to have chariot procession or not on Thaipusam. I don’t want to pre-empt anything. We will conduct a series of meetings and let the health experts decide,” he said.
He said more detailed SOP on Thaipusam celebration will be out on the first week of January after discussions with the state Health Department, National Security Council and the police.
Ramasamy said if the authority decided that there should be no chariot processions, no panthals and no kavadis, he hoped all the devotees will abide by it.
“The people, when it comes to religious matters, might get very emotional but I just want to remind them to adhere to all the SOP set by the authority as it is for the interest of the larger public,” he said.
Hindu devotees celebrate Thaipusam on the full moon day of the Tamil month of “Thai”. Next year, that date falls on Jan 28.
Every year, thousands of devotees will follow the chariots by foot along its route of about 8km before it reaches the Arulmigu Balathandayuthapani Temple and Nattukkottai Chettiar Temple in Jalan Kebun Bunga here during the Thaipusam festival.
Meanwhile, Arulmigu Balathandayuthapani Temple chairman R Subramaniam said he believed this year the crowd will be lower compared with previous years where more than 1.2 million Hindu devotees including international tourists joined the celebration.
He said the people are aware that the Covid-19 pandemic is still around and that they would put their health at risk if they failed to comply with the SOP.
“I think all devotees will understand that we could not celebrate much and that they will most likely be allowed to only do their prayers at the temple,” he said.
Nevertheless, Subramaniam said the temple enforcement team had made some simple preparations and was ready to control and manage the crowd during Thaipusam.
It is commonly believed that Thaipusam is the day when Lord Murugan received the divine vel (spear) from his mother Parvati and vanquished the evil demon Soorapadman.