This time around, a far cry from previous years, the sight of a sea of devotees were no where to be seen who had for years thronged Batu Caves for Thaipusam with enthusiastic displays of worship and colours.
Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has thanked all the Hindus as they were cooperative with the authorities and complied with the standard operating procedure (SOP) to curtail the Covid-19 outbreak.
“I would like to thank all the Hindus for abiding to the standard operating procedures (SOPs) by conducting the rituals in their respective homes,” said The PM.
“In Malaysia, Thaipusam is usually celebrated with chariot processions travelling to the Hindu temples carrying the statue of Lord Muruga, kavadis and paal koodam (milk pot kavadi),” he said yesterday in a post on his Facebook page.
Instead, the police, the People’s Volunteer Corps (Rela), temple workers and committee members, as well as the media, were present yesterday at Batu Caves.
In order to maintain crowd safety, Rela’s guards stood at the temple gate and made sure there were no human movement around the temple and its grounds.
It was pleasing to see the public act responsibly adhering to the SOPs in order to curb the spread of Covid-19 that has already reached an alarming case count in the country.
