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PETALING JAYA – The Batu Caves Sri Subramaniar temple committee has called on the government to revise three conditions in the list of SOPs issued by the National Security Council (MKN) with Thaipusam just around the corner.
According to an article by Free Malaysia Today (FMT), committee chairman R. Nadarajah said that the team has requested for changes in the following areas:
- Operating times – namely, for the temple to be open for 24 hours, from the eve of Thaipusam until the next day. Currently, it is permitted to open between 5am and 11pm;
- For an additional person to accompany the paal kudam (milk pot) bearers, as some of them are old and require assistance; and
- For those under 18 to take part in prayers.
He said that last Wednesday, the committee had written to the government and is still awaiting a response.
He added that there is a whopping amount of more than 90,000 devotees who registered to attend the prayers at the moment, and that it would be far-fetched to expect to cater to them under the current SOPs.
He told FMT that they are unable to turn them away and that “the time and attendance limits set by MKN are not acceptable.”
“As for children, parents have made vows to shave their heads bald or carry them in sugar-cane kavadi, which can only be fulfilled with their presence,” he said.
He expressed his wishes for MKN to come to a decision as quickly as possible, as the Batu Caves area is expected to be flocked with devotees starting tomorrow.
Last week, National Unity Minister Halimah Mohamed Sadique announced at a press conference that only 6,000 devotees are allowed each day on January 16, January 17 and January 19, while 9,000 people are allowed on the festive day (January 18).
This is a huge change from previous years before the pandemic, when it was common for hundreds of thousands of devotees to attend the celebration at Batu Caves.
She also added that only 12 prayer sessions are to be held for 30 minutes each in the temple from 5am to 5pm.
Additionally, only 500 devotees are allowed in each session. The session would be followed by 30 minutes of sanitising work.
On Thaipusam itself, 18 prayer sessions will be held with the same number of devotees attending each session, and the temple will be open from 5am to 11pm. – The Vibes, January 16, 2022