Concerned that the recent spate of vandalism at Hindu temples may have involved elements of "terrorism and extremism", A group of Hindu NGOs wants quick action from the government to put an end to it.

As such, Persatuan Rapat Malaysia (Rapat) intends to meet Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and inspector-general of police (IGP) Khalid Abu Bakar to ask for increased protection for places of worship from the police.

"We worry that there are elements of terrorism or extremism involved we have to nip it in the bud before it gets worse," said Rapat legal adviser M Manogaran in a press conference in Kuala Lumpur today.

He added that it was not just a Hindu issue, but a Malaysian issue, as all places of worship might be targeted in the future.

"We have to accept the fact that we have a serious security problem right now. Only then we can address the issue," he said.

“The Hindu community does not have enough funding to provide security for their places of worship,” said G Gunaraj, the secretary-general of the coalition of Malaysian Hindu NGOs, which was why it was asking for assistance from the authorities.

"We want our government and police to make sure that our temples are always protected. We plan to meet with the home minister and IGP to ask for their help in ensuring our temples are always safe," he added.

Rapat president A Rajaretinam commended the setting up of a special taskforce in Penang to expedite investigations on vandalism involving Hindu temples, but questioned why wasn't there a nationwide taskforce.

He also urged authorities to take stern action in incidents that might involve extremists and pro-terrorist groups.

"Authorities should have a clear agenda that the rakyat will not be influenced by extremist and terrorist ideas," he said.

In the past two months, Penang had seen four of its temples vandalised, while it was reported on Thursday that two other temples - one in Kedah and one in Perak - had been similarly desecrated.

In April, statues at the Sri Muneswarar Amman Temple were smashed in Ipoh, Perak.