P Ramasamy, the deputy chief minister II, said priests found signs of a break-in at Kuil Sri Muneeswarar near the Tunku Kudin underpass at 5.30am. Ramasamy said he was told that the padlocked grilles at the nearly 70-years-old temple had been prised open.

Statues of three deities – Ganesh, Sivalingam and the main deity Muneeswarar, were damaged, with what might have been a sharp object.

“The committee members told me it would cost nearly RM100,000 to restore the statues and to conduct re-consecration of the temple.

“The pertinent question is why have four Hindu temples been damaged in a short span of two months, in Penang alone? Are there some forces trying to destabilise Penang? Could this be an IS-inspired attack?,” speculated Ramasamy when contacted today.

The temple committee had lodged a police report, he said, urging the police to speed up investigation into three previous temple desecrations. He said there had not been any news from the police after two months.

Two Hindu temples in Penanti estate, near Butterworth, were defiled a few days apart in June and the Dewa Sri Mathuraiveeran Temple in Kampung Sungai Nibong Kechil near Bayan Lepas on July 2.

Two years ago, a Hindu and a Buddhist temple were also defiled, but police investigation revealed that it was committed by a “mentally unsound” person.

FMT is awaiting comment from north-east district police chief Mior Faridalathrash Wahid.