KUALA LUMPUR: While the government has decided to give the green light for the Thaipusam celebrations to go ahead, the silver chariot procession is still a no-go.
National Unity Minister Datuk Halimah Mohamed Sadique told the Dewan Rakyat this in response to Steven Choong (Tebrau-Independent) who asked whether the ministry had prepared a specific standard operating procedure (SOP) for Chinese New Year temple visits and for the Chingay procession.
“For Thaipusam, we also had applications for silver chariot processions but it was disallowed due to the emergence of the new variant,” she said, adding that this decision could be overturned by higher decision making bodies within the National Security Council (NSC).
Earlier, Halimah told V. Sivakumar (Batu Gajah- PH) that the ministry had already prepared the SOPs related to the festivals and called 10 religious leaders from Selangor, Perak, Kedah, Perak, Kuala Lumpur and Johor for an engagement session with the NSC and the Health Ministry on Dec 2.
She said that the SOPs which were tweaked to incorporate the input of the leaders would be raised at three higher level committee meetings.
For the first layer, it would have to be vetted by the Technical Working Group Pandemic Management meeting on Dec 13 and chaired by the NSC.
“The SOPs will then be raised at the quartet meeting , chaired by the Defence Minister which is scheduled to be held on Dec 14 before it is brought to the Special Committee Meeting on the Management of the Pandemic chaired by the Prime Minister on Dec 15. When all this is completed I will send out the finalised SOPs to religious leaders and prepare a press statement.”
Halimah also held up a copy of the SOPs prepared so far in the house as proof.
She also said that among the seven aspects discussed was the establishment of stalls for traders at temples during the festival.
“These stalls can be set up by traders as long as they get clearance from the local councils.”
Meanwhile Halimah said that the SOPs for any celebrations are prepared two months prior to the event.
“I guarantee there are no issues with the preparation of SOPs for any celebration in Malaysia in line with the Keluarga Malaysia concept,” she said, adding that the SOPs for Christmas had been prepared and it was due to engage with religious leaders on Dec 14.
The Silver Chariot processions were banned nationwide in 2021. Large scale movement restrictions also curbed people from participating in the festival and marking their penance by bearing kavadis, milk pots and thronging the Batu Caves temple complex.
Prior to the pandemic, the event drew more than a million people to its grounds.
Source: New Straits Times
