Rethink Thaipusam celebration, Waytha says over Omicron concern

 

The Thaipusam chariot procession was a low-key affair last year with only 10 devotees allowed to take part.

PETALING JAYA: A former federal minister is appealing to Hindus in the country to rethink the way they celebrate Thaipusam this year, citing concern over the Omicron variant of the Covid-19 virus.

P Waytha Moorthy said the government and health ministry should be allowed to decide the best way to prevent a “Thaipusam cluster”, in light of the recent data on the variant.

Although Omicron is less severe than the Delta variant, it is also considered to be less susceptible to vaccines.

In the US, the former unity minister noted, the number of cases shot up from a mere single case to 365,000 infections within 30 days, adding “we can imagine its effect in our country too”.

He said an estimated one million people were expected to throng Batu Caves to celebrate Thaipusam, a venue which makes physical distancing impossible, while another one million were expected to converge in Penang, Sungai Petani, and Ipoh. Thaipusam falls on Jan 18 this year, but the processions and prayers will start at least a day before and up to two days after the actual day of the festival.

“I, therefore, appeal to all Hindus to ponder over the medical hazard Covid-19 and its latest Omicron variant can have on Malaysians and rethink their Thaipusam plans.

“We have suffered enough over the past two years, so let us not risk ourselves and others further,” Waytha, who is the Malaysian Advancement Party president, said in a Facebook post.

Waytha went on to say that when objections were first raised by certain Hindu groups and political leaders after Putrajaya announced that the Batu Caves chariot procession would be cancelled, the severity of Omicron was not known.

“It must be noted that Halimah made the statement 11 days after the announcement by the World Health Organization on Nov 26 on the discovery of the new variant,” he said referring to his successor in the Cabinet, Halimah Mohamed Sadique.

But, Waytha said, he was now made to understand that certain SOPs must be adhered to.

Last month, Halimah visited sites involved in the Thaipusam celebration in Kuala Lumpur and in Batu Caves, Selangor, to streamline the proposed SOPs for the religious festival.

For last year’s Thaipusam festival, the chariot processions held in both Kuala Lumpur and Penang were subject to strict SOPs, with only 10 devotees allowed to accompany the chariot. - FMT