He was so furious that all he could do was yell “Dey” before spluttering and gesturing as a video recorded his reaction. At one point, with his eyes bulging, he stuck out his tongue and was seemingly lost for words.
That spontaneous reaction has made Kanagarajah “famous” as the video has gone viral on social media, with some netizens even coming up with memes.
The hashtags #DeyChallenge and #TheyyChallenge are appearing on most social media sites, with some trying to imitate Kanagarajah’s one-word outrage.
Kanagarajah, however, is not offended that netizens are poking fun at his expense.
“If my angry outburst makes them happy, then it’s no problem. Let them be happy,” he said.
He also said he had not received any threats since the video went viral.
“I just saw them doing this funny thing trying to imitate me,” he said.
He also denied that his reaction in the video was made for fun.
“At that time, I wanted to cry when I saw what was going on.
“I did not purposely make an angry face. I was just upset when I saw my friends being beaten up and their heads bloodied.
“We did not want to quarrel with anyone; we were there just to pray,” Kanagarajah, a regular volunteer at the temple, said.
On Monday, a group suddenly came into the temple in USJ25 when devotees were gathered there. In the ensuing scuffle, several people were injured and the temple premises ransacked. At least 18 vehicles parked outside the temple were torched.
Early Tuesday morning, an unruly crowd that gathered outside the temple torched several more vehicles and also vandalised the office of the developer nearby. A firefighter on duty was badly injured and is now fighting for his life.
Previously, screengrabs of Kanagarajah in police attire had also made the rounds on social media.
Inspector-General of Police Mohamad Fuzi Harun, however, said Kanagarajah was once a member of the Police Volunteer Reserve but his services were terminated due to “some problems”.
The temple is involved in a dispute with developer, One City Development, which had obtained a consent court judgement in 2014 for the temple to be relocated to another piece of land nearby with RM1.5 million compensation.