Penang police may have formed a taskforce to expedite investigations on vandalism involving Hindu temples but the people are concerned over their delay in taking action, said Deputy Chief Minister II P Ramasamy.

Inspector-general of police Khalid Abu Bakar announced the setting-up of the taskforce on July 11 but ruled out acts of terrorism.

Ramasamy tried to explain some of the reasons why there were frequent incidents of temple desecration in the northern region of late.

"Public apathy, lack of security measures, disinterest on the part of authorities, lack of swift police action and the isolation of temples were the reasons why so many temples were attacked and deities smashed," he told Malaysiakini.

"The attacks were not directed against one particular deity, temples of different deities were involved."

Ramasamy, who is also the Penang Hindu Endowment Board chairperson, said some vandalism might give the appearance of hate crime whereas the others could be the result of robberies.

"But we are not in any position to determine the actual cause or causes unless and until the police complete their investigation," he added.

Ramasamy was referring to a series of seven incidents of temple desecration within a period of less than two months in Penang and Kedah.

So far, four temples in Penang and three temples in Kedah have been desecrated.

Ramasamy described this as the first time in history that seven temples were desecrated within a short time.

Today, two temples were broken into and idols smashed in Kedah and Perak.

Apparently some valuable items were missing and some suspects have been detained for further investigation.

"So, why are so many temples broken within a short period?

"Are they targets of robbery or were attacked due to the rising racial and religious polarisation in the country?" asked the Prai assemblyperson.

"Are these attacks Islamic State-inspired ones or are they the results of infighting within the various temple committees? Or are they the chaos emanating from robberies?"

"Alternatively, are the temple attacks made to look like the hate crimes or robberies for moving the temples to alternative sites?" he asked.

Ramasamy noted that beyond these possibilities, the increase in temple attacks could have been propelled by earlier attacks.

"It is just that some forces are taking advantage of the situation for various purposes.

"The forces behind the temple desecration puzzle must be resolved sooner rather than later," he added.