Malaysian pilgrims gather for Thaipusam

A devotee carries miniature jars of milk on his back with hooks during the Thaipusam festival in Kuala Lumpur yesterday. PHOTO: AFP

Tens of thousands of pilgrims, some with skewered cheeks, gathered yesterday for a Hindu festival dampened this year by a boycott among ethnic Indian activists discontent over the government's treatment of minorities.

After overnight prayers and preparations, pilgrims carrying kavadis -- heavy frames decorated with beads and peacock feathers -- and brass pots with offerings of milk marched in processions to Hindu temples across the country to celebrate the Thaipusam festival.

But the main procession and prayers, which normally see nearly 1 million people gather at Sri Subamaniar Swamy Temple inside the limestone Batu Caves near Malaysia's biggest city, Kuala Lumpur, were this year the target of a boycott by ethnic Indian activists, who urged pilgrims to go to other temples in order to express their anger at the government.

Many ethnic Indians, who make up 8 percent of Malaysia's 27 million people, feel they face discrimination in jobs, education and business, and say they do not have full religious freedom in this Muslim-majority country.

About 60 percent of Malaysia's population is ethnic Malay Muslims. There is also a large ethnic Chinese minority that is mainly Buddhist and Christian.

"Rumors of riots and political problems kept people away. It's very dull ... Usually you cannot walk around here," S.M. Mahndran, 50, said, pointing at empty spaces in the Sri Subamaniar Swamy Temple foreground.

Pilgrims were urged to gather at other temples instead of the Batu Caves, which are controlled by the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC), a political party in the ruling National Front coalition.

Indian activists accuse the party of not doing enough for the ethnic Indian community.

Shopkeepers around the Batu Caves, pilgrims and journalists said only about 30,000 to 50,000 people turned up this year.

There were no official estimates of the crowds, but MIC President Samy Vellu claimed a crowd of more than 1.1 million.

"The crowd is the usual crowd," he said.

The simmering Indian discontent became evident on Nov. 25 when about 20,000 people held an unprecedented anti-government rally in Kuala Lumpur. Five leaders of the Hindu Rights Action Force, which organized the protest, were jailed under a law that allows indefinite detention.

Devan, a policeman who would not give his full name, blamed the low turnout at the Batu Caves on the NGO, but acknowledged it is fighting for Indian rights.

"They woke up those Indians who have been sleeping," said Devan, who came to the caves with his three children to offer milk.