GEORGE TOWN – The Arulmigu Balathandayuthapani temple and the Penang Hindu Endowment Board will be submitting an appeal to the National Unity Ministry and National Security Council to revise the standard operating procedures (SOPs) to better accommodate devotees during Thaipusam.
Temple chairman Datuk R. Subramaniam said the SOPs should be amended to allow children under the age of 18 to enter temple grounds with vaccinated parents, and extend operation hours during Thaipusam.
He said in a press conference that temple hours should begin from 5am (Monday) until 11pm (Tuesday) to accommodate the festival.
Seeing that the temple grounds span five acres, Subramaniam said the temple can accommodate 10,000 people at any one time during the pre-Covid-19 times.
So, he is requesting that instead of only allowing 3,000 people in a day, he is hoping that the new SOPs will allow 3,000 people per session.
In addition, he is hoping 500 devotees are allowed to follow the chariot procession, instead of 100 stated in the newly released SOPs.
Meanwhile, Penang Deputy Chief Minister II P. Ramasamy took to Facebook today to express his displeasure with National Unity Minister Datuk Halimah Mohamed Sadique.
This came after she visited the temple and said 1,000 people would be able to follow the chariot.
“In Penang, she was prepared to allow 1,000 devotees to accompany the chariots even though the Hilltop Murugan temple committee proposed 500.
“How she approved the magical number of ‘100’ remains a mystery.
“The Penang Hindu Endowment Board has no choice but to adhere to the SOPs announced by the federal government,” he wrote. – The Vibes, January 14, 2022
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