Rayer: Reducing Thaipusam stops for Penang chariots will be unpopular

Penang Hindu Endowments Board commissioner says any attempt to rush the processions of the two chariots will stifle Thaipusam celebrations.

GEORGE TOWN: The police suggestion for Penang’s two Thaipusam chariots to have their halts reduced during the annual processions next week will not be well received by devotees, Seri Delima assemblyman RSN Rayer said today.

The DAP legislator said any attempt to rush the Silver Chariot and Golden Chariot would serve to stifle the religious celebration.

He said he hoped that state police chief Commissioner A Thaiveegan was not serious about the idea of speeding up the processions.

Thaiveegan was reported in The Star yesterday as saying that there should be fewer or shorter stops for both chariots to enable them to reach their temple destinations on time.

The Silver Chariot procession, managed by the Nattukottai Chettiar community and usually lasting about 14 hours, has been taking place during Thaipusam for more than a century.

With the Penang Hindu Endowments Board’s (PHEB) introduction of its Golden Chariot, which departs about two hours earlier, the processions last year lasted about 22 hours.

Rayer, a PHEB commissioner, said the chariots’ stops along the route were not like stops made by a bus every time someone flagged it.

“Thousands of devotees wait along the procession route every year to pay homage,” he said in a statement today.

“It has been a norm for the chariots to stop at every refreshment stall or ‘thaneer panthal’ to allow devotees to offer their prayers.

“The duty of the police is to provide security during Thaipusam,” he added, stressing that the Penang police had done a “splendid and excellent job” in maintaining peace and order at the festival for the last few years.

Rayer said Thaipusam was a grand affair in the state and was celebrated in an extraordinary manner by local Hindus and those from other parts of the world.

He said many local Chinese and foreign tourists would also gather along the route to witness the event, with many joining in the prayers for the Hindu deity Lord Murugan.

He said there were no major issues like traffic congestion last year as all details were well coordinated by the relevant temple committees and the police.

“The crowd was also very orderly and everything went on smoothly.

“The delay, if any, was caused by the increase in the number of devotees and the coconuts broken (at each stop). This is something to be expected every year,” he said. -FMT