Georgetown, 28 Jan 2021 (The Capital Post)- Penang Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) ask State Deputy Chief Minister YB Ramasamy to stop politicizing Thaipusam for his own political survival.
The response came from MIC after Ramasamy declares the Thaipusam chariot procession as illegal yesterday in a statement.
In a press statement MIC Penang stated, “Ramasamy must learn to distinct the differences between a celebration and a ritual.
The chariot procession that took place last night was not a celebration but merely a ritual that has been carried out over the past 164 years without failure even in the days of World Wars, Communist Insurgency and the 1969 Racial Riots”.
They also answer to the Standard of procedure (SOP) criticism by Ramasamy on the chariot procession, “If his concerns were SOP adherence, various reports let it be in terms of pictures or videos from last night’s procession has clearly proved that there was a very high adherence of SOP with members of PDRM constantly keeping an eye on it”.
The state MIC also reminds Ramasamy who is the president of The Penang Hindu Endowment Board (PHEB) that PHEB is only a self proclaimed regulatory body of the Hindu Affairs in Penang and must understand the fact that it is not the sole authority of Hindu Affairs in Penang just because it has control over a few temples through the PHEB.
Another press statement by Suresh Muniandy, MIC Penang Info Chief critisized the online ‘Archanai’ fund collection by the PHEB during Thaipusam.
“Many Hindus, especially in Penang have expressed opposition and dissatisfaction with the announcement of online payments for “Archanai” in conjuction with Thaipusam by PHEB which led by the Penang state government leadership from Democratic Action Party (DAP) and People Justice Party (PKR)”, said Suresh.
In his point of view, PHEB is only is only interested in making the management of temples and religious ceremonies a business and the leadership of the PHEB should realize that this is not the right time to raise money for the prayer rituals, but the best time for them to use the money collected previously through public donations and the State Government to help the Indian Community and other Penangites severely affected by the pandemic.
He added,”PHEB should stop the fund collection for “Archanai” and as a party that claims to have “authority” in the religious affairs of Hindus in Penang, they should be aware that their actions not only give a bad image to them but also to the entire Indian community in Malaysia”.- The Capital Post