Penang Hindu Endowments Board (PHEB) chairman RSN Rayer said this year’s Thaipusam will be different as both the gold and silver chariots will be featured together, as a sign of unity, in the procession to the temple at Jalan Kebun Bunga.

“This time, we are calling the festival the ‘Thaipusam of Unity’ because both chariots will move almost together, about 1km apart from each other. We hope the procession will reach the temple by 11pm,” he said.

“We will also try to coordinate the procession to move faster as we do not want a repeat of what happened several years ago when the chariots reached the temple nearly 24 hours later.”

Rayer said the golden chariot will move from the temple at Lebuh Queen at 5.30am on Jan 24, followed by the silver chariot an hour later from the temple at Lebuh Penang before both chariots return to their respective temples on Jan 26.

He said 150 “thaneer panthal” (refreshment stalls) will be set up along the procession route.

Earlier, he attended a Kesuma Madani programme held in conjunction with the Thaipusam celebrations at the Waterfall Hilltop Temple at Jalan Kebun Bunga.