I visited Batu Caves for Thaipusam on Feb 1 as I have always done for many, many years. I came back with the following thoughts.

Firstly, the crowd-control arrangements were imposed with little or no imagination causing unnecessary delays and problems to the devotees. As the devotees enter the caves, so many checkpoints were imposed by the security personnel. Don't they realise that these numerous checkpoints at short intervals interrupted and disrupted the flow of devotees going up to the temple?

Didn't they realise that the huge crowd included old men and women, small children and those carrying the 'kavadis'? What was the reason to introduce these new measures when allowing a free flow of people worked well in previous years? Whose silly idea was it?

All that has to be done is to station policemen or security personnel at strategic spots to prompt along those who take more than a fair time to move on, saying there are other devotees behind waiting to say their prayers.

My second point concerns the three lanes of steps going up to the temple in the daves. Previously, the centre lane was reserved for kavadis and those accompanying them to go up. This year, that lane was closed to allow for kavadis coming down, while kavadis wanting to go up were stopped and made to wait for their turn to go up.

Can you imagine the mental and physical state of those men and women, completely exhausted, waiting to reach the scared altar? The previous years' arrangement of reserving the one lane for kavadis to go up had worked well without any problem. Whose stupid idea was it to change the previous years' arrangements which ran smoothly?

Thirdly, the 'milk pot' carriers are charged RM10 per head. For what? The temple does not provide any service for these milk pot carriers. This greedy plan was introduced one or two years ago with no justifiable reason. The idiotic part was MIC president S Samy Vellu defending the temple authorities. Is he a federal minister looking after the interests of the public or is he working for the temple committee? He looked very annoyed when this point was made known to him.

Fourthly, parking should be free for all. Why collect any parking fee on a public holiday at public areas especially for an occasion which assembles one of the largest crowds in Malaysia for a religious celebration? Who is collecting the money and where does it go to? An exorbitant RM15 is charged per car at some places.

All it takes is for few traffic policemen to be around to ensure that vehicles are parked properly without causing any traffic jams and to allow two lanes of traffic along the mainroad to flow. Samy, as usual, has an instant solution. He said he will ask the temple to build a multi-storey carpark. A multi-storey carpark for use for just one day in a year costing a few millions? How will the temple recover the capital and how much will be charged for parking?

Fifth, the issual of a national holiday for Thaipusam. Samy has said for umpteen years that he will get the cabinet to agree to a federal holiday for Thaipusam. What has happened? That is a simple illustration of his influence with the cabinet and what he can do for the community.

One other point I wish to raise is that more than one police report has been made against certain individuals serving with the Batu Caves Temple Committee. Can the police, the attorney-general or the ACA tell the public the outcome of their investigations? This so that the public at large does not have to make any negative conclusions.

My final point is the piercing of the body as part of the kavadi ritual. Taking a kavadi is, of course, to fulfil one's vow to Lord Muruga. But we do not have to turn it into a torture carnival. It is a complete misrepresentation of Hinduism which does not call for such punishment.

Hinduim calls for the control of the mind and heart. To have good thoughts and do good deeds and submit to God, in this case to Lord Muruga. It must not be forgotten that thousands of non-Hindus visit Batu Caves on this occasion, many of them foreigners. They go away with wrong impressions of Hindus and Hinduism.

Can the temple committee stop the practice of kavadi bearers piercing their body. It can be controversial, I know, but let us give it a try for the sake of the religion.