Following widespread criticism, the trio issued a public apology and acknowledged the insensitivity of their actions, which has seen numerous police reports lodged and a police probe opened.
MHS, the apex Hindu body in the nation, told FMT it is willing to accept the apology if Radin Amir Affendi Ahmad Aruani, Azad Jasmin and Nabil Ahmad were sincere.
“The damage has already been done with this malicious video, so action definitely has to be taken,” said MHS president T Ganesan.
“At the same time, if they have truly repented for their mistake and learnt their lesson, and they wish to apologise wholeheartedly, we accept their apology.
“We definitely accept their apology but they still need to face the consequences of their actions.
“If you go to a shop and break something, you have to pay for the item. Some shops even have a sign stating: ‘Nice to see, nice to touch. Once broken, considered sold’.
“So no doubt, you have made a mistake and can apologise to the shop owner, but you still have to pay the price.”
Ganesan said in a multicultural society like Malaysia, such issues have to be treated with the utmost sensitivity and care.
He also said he hoped the incident would serve as a lesson to all Malaysians not to make fun of any religion.
While the trio yesterday apologised at the Batu Caves temple complex over their video, temple committee member Sivakumar Nadarajah said their actions were unforgivable.
Police today referred the investigation papers on the video to the Attorney-General’s Chambers.
Inspector-General of Police Razarudin Husain told Bernama that 73 police reports had been received so far, and the case is being investigated under Section 298 of the Penal Code and Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998.
Section 298 of the Penal Code relates to deliberately wounding the religious feelings of others, while Section 233 of the CMA relates to making and initiating the transmission of offensive communications.
Meanwhile, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission yesterday issued a notice of intent to suspend the licence of Era FM’s operator, which has been given 30 days to submit a response before any final decision is made.
Era FM has issued a public apology and suspended the three radio hosts as well as two other staff members.