-P. Ramasamy, February 5, 2017.

An unknown organisation, the United Hindu Religious Council (UHRC), gave a press conference on Feb 4, 2017 in Penang, saying that the Golden Chariot organised by the Penang Hindu Endowments Board (PHEB) violates Hindu agamic principles.

The UHRC spokespersons, MV Mathialagan and M Sethubathi, said that since the PHEB did not keep to its deadline of justifying the religious basis for the Golden Chariot, they had no choice but to present a letter from a Hindu authority, Arupadai Veedu Trust (AVT) of Tamil Nadu, India, to confirm that the Golden Chariot cannot be permitted and urged Hindus to block the chariot procession on Feb 8, 2017.

It was further added that since the organisers consists of non-believers and atheists, the Golden Chariot should not be on the agenda of the PHEB in Penang’s Thaipusam.

The letter was written by one lady Alamelu Arunachalam in Tamil dated Jan 21, 2017 and on the same page translations were given in English and Bahasa Malaysia.

The English translation reads:

“The golden chariot should only revolve, circulate around temple area/compound. This is the religious practice and fundamental believes (sic) that has been inherited and being the ritual and tradition conducted in each and every temple.”

It is obvious that AVT did not provide the simultaneous translations; rather the translations were printed after the letter was obtained supposedly from the secretary. This itself raises questions about the authenticity of the letter and whether the AVT would permit translations on the same page in two different languages. Moreover, the English and Malay translations do not exactly conform to the original that is in Tamil.

As the letter itself indicates, AVT is a trust formed to build a new temple and the members are from the six Lord Murugan temples managed by the state government of Tamil Nadu through the Tamil Nadu Hindu Endowments Board (TNHEB).

If at all there is needs to be directive, that has to be issued by a religious body that functions within the ambit of the TNHEB. The trust is not a religious body in the first place, its basic function is to collection funds to manage and build temples. Even if there is a religious edict, that might only apply to temples within the jurisdiction of TNHEB.

I believe that the AVT has close association with the Nattukottai Nagarather Chettiar Trustees in Penang (NNCT). In fact, a former trustee, one Ramanathan, told a PHEB commissioner that he would be able to obtain a letter from the AVT to confirm why the Golden Chariot procession cannot be allowed during Thaipusam.

I am confident that none other than Ramanathan himself provided this letter from the AVT to UHRC. I challenge UHRC to deny the fact that they received the letter from the AVT through him.

There is no direct communication between UHRC and the AVT in Tamil Nadu. The trustees and friends of Chettiars in Penang have mediated the only link. I also hear that some members of the AVT are themselves members of the Chettiar clan. In fact, the secretary who wrote the letter on behalf of AVT herself is a Chettiar, and so are many other office-bearers.

On Monday, the first thing in the morning, I will be writing an official letter to the chairperson of the AVT to confirm whether the secretary wrote the letter and whether they have any authority to dictate terms to Hindu temples, especially the Murugan ones in Malaysian or other countries.

Similarly, I have informed a former member of parliament in Tamil Nadu to take up this matter with the state minister who is charge of the Tamil Nadu Hindu Endowments Board and whether the AVT, which is not a religious body, can issue letters to Hindu organisations in Malaysia and elsewhere about what should be the right Hindu practice.

I just heard that Vaiyapuri Gopalsamy, also known as Vaiko, the leader of the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) political party, has already issued a press release in Chennai demanding to know on what basis and whose authority the letter was issued to UHRC in Penang, Malaysia.

Can the AVT provide the PHEB the religious basis of the letter that is in the hands of the UHRC presently? What is their source in not allowing Golden Chariot procession?

This morning I have informed the Indian High Commissioner to Malaysia about this matter to ascertain whether the AVT is body that can issue religious dictates to temples in Malaysia and elsewhere.

This is a serious matter that needs to be addressed as I firmly believe that the UHRC is composed of questionable individuals such as Athi Shanker, a journalist with Malaysian Outlook; Mathialagan, a former expelled IPF member; and Sethubathi, a disgruntled MIC member and others have the credibility and responsibility to drag the AVT through the mud and smearing its name in Malaysia.

At the time of writing, I believe that a few police reports have been made against UHRC for using ‘fraudulent means’ to confuse and deceive Hindus in Penang and Malaysia about the Golden Chariot procession during Thaipusam.

P RAMASAMY is Deputy Chief Minister II of Penang and the state assemblyperson for Perai.