The Penang Hindu Endowments Board (PHEB), which manages the hilltop temple, said the inaugural golden chariot would now leave at 5am, 90 minutes before the Chettiars’ silver chariot at 6.30am.

Board chairman P Ramasamy disclosed this following a meeting with the police chiefs yesterday, where the PHEB handed an olive branch to the Chettiars as an offer of reconciliation.

“Sadly, at yesterday’s meeting, the Chettiars refused to cooperate with the board. That goes to reveal their real selfish motives.

“The PHEB had asked for all the chariots to run at the same time, but were refused any form of coordination or cooperation,” Ramasamy said at a press conference in Komtar today.

However, he said police had assured the board of their full cooperation to ensure both chariots run smoothly on Thaipusam.

Silver chariot privately-owned by Chettiar community

Penang’s de facto Thaipusam chariot procession has been organised by the Chettiar community for the past 126 years.

Their authority has never been questioned by Penang Hindus and it has become the tradition to follow the Chettiar procession.

In other parts of Malaysia, such as Batu Caves and Sungai Petani, the Thaipusam processions are organised by the respective Lord Murugan temples.

In Penang, the silver chariot of the Chettiars departs from the storage unit called Kovil Veedu in Lebuh Penang for the Chettiar temple in Jalan Kebun Bunga.

The chariot, bearing a statue of Lord Muruga, spends two nights at the Chettiar temple and returns on the third night after Thaipusam.

Golden chariot not to belittle the Chettiars, insists board

The golden chariot procession will leave from the Queen Street Maha Mariamman temple.

PHEB had proposed the golden chariot in 2012 to mark the opening of the RM13 million hilltop Murugan temple. Not far away is the 1854-built Chettiar temple at street level.

More recently, Ramasamy said there was good reason for a separate chariot.

He had charged the Chettiars with sending the donations collected from devotees from the silver chariot to India instead of saving the money for Hindus in Penang.

The Chettiars have denied the charge, claiming their books were audited by the Prime Minister’s Department and the auditor-general.

‘Foreigners exploiting Penang Hindus by repatriating donations to India’

Ramasamy had also called for an urgent investigation into the board of trustees running the silver chariot.

He claimed the board was filled with Chettiars, the majority of whom were foreigners.

During yesterday’s meeting with police, Ramasamy said the Chettiar trustees were mostly “red IC holders”.

“There are 50 trustees and six of them are Malaysians. The others are from Chettinad, Tamli Nadu.

“During Thaipusam, they collect donations at the chariot. As foreigners, you cannot collect donations.

“Billions have been collected in the last 126 years. Have they channelled the money back to the community? I am sure they have not.

“We will not tolerate leeches who take money from locals and ship it off to India,” Ramasamy said.

“The hilltop Murugan Temple’s golden chariot will correct the injustice.”

‘Trustees ought to be deported’

Ramasamy said the Immigration Department ought to investigate the trustees and “ship them off” from the country.

On claims that the Chettiars declared the donations, Ramasamy dared them to publicly declare the amount they received in gold and cash.

“At least our board hands out scholarships worth RM700,000 to RM 800,000 to needy students, both Hindus and non-Hindus. Can the Chettiars say the same?”

Ramasamy said donations from the golden chariot would be brought to Komtar to be manually counted and placed in a safe.

Penang only state to break tradition with silver chariot

The golden chariot will be the “real and official chariot” of the hilltop Murugan temple, PHEB commissioner P Kuvena Raju said, in an attempt to clear public confusion over reports of a “clash of chariots”.

While recognising the existence of the silver chariot, Kuvena said the golden chariot would do justice to the hilltop temple.

He said traditionally, Thaipusam chariots all over the world departed from the Mariamman (Goddess Parvati) temple and ended at the Murugan temple.

Kuvena said the chariot carried Lord Muruga’s Vel (divine javelin), and the journey signified the sending of the javelin from the deity’s mother, Parvati.

In Hindu mythology, Parvati presented the Vel to her son as an avatar of her power to destroy the evil asura, Soorapadman.

Kuvena said where other Thaipusam processions were held, such as in Sungai Petani and Batu Caves, chariots began the journey to the Murugan temple from the Mariamman temple.

“The golden chariot will do justice to our hilltop temple, which is steeped in history.” Kuvena said.

FMT has contacted Nattukotai Chettiar Temple managing trustee M Renganathan and is awaiting his comments.