photos by Joshua Chiang and Terry Xu
It all started when the Hindu Endowment Board (HEB) guidelines for Thaipusam celebrations were made public this year. Those planning to participate in the festival were told that they had to refrain from shouting, playing recorded music, sounding gongs or drums, painting their faces and bodies, carrying banners, flags or postcards, and using a public address system.
Anyone caught breaking the rules risked being barred from future processions, as well as a fine of up to $5,000 under the Public Order Act.
As the news spread, the internet was ablaze with indignation.
“If you can’t even tolerate a traditional Singapore festival for 1 out of 365 days (and it’s not at 10pm, but 10am!), you shouldn’t be living in Singapore,” a blogger wrote.
“How a person practices his religion is [for] him to decide so long it is within the framework of the law and without disturbing the other [people]. I am a Chinese but personally feel this Hindu celebration adds wealth to our national culture.” A commenter added on The Online Citizen.
But there were others who saw nothing wrong with the guidelines.
TOC reader S Ramamritham wrote that the Hindu religious event is being “put to ridicule particularly by some kavadi carriers and supporters with their improper conduct, behaviour and even dressing”.
The guidelines are there “to enhance and bring out the religious sanctity of the event”.
When the ST report on the rules first came out, some Singaporeans were quick to take offense – pointing out that they should also apply to other religious festivals, not just Thaipusam.
Since then, Home Affairs and Law Minister K Shanmugam has clarified that the ST’s report was inaccurate.
The guidelines, we’re told, apply to “all religious processions, not just Thaipusam“. They’ve been around for 38 years, and contrary to what the ST had suggested, they were actually eased this year, to allow the singing of hymns.
But not everyone’s convinced. A shopowner at Little India who identified himself as “Mr Shan” told TOC, “Why all the while few years back, they never enforce the (ban against) musical instruments? Why this year they say want to stop? What reason they have to stop this?”
TOC understands that in previous years, Thaipusam festivities have been occasionally disrupted by unruly youths. Witnesses say they would show up drunk, sing obscene songs and make a nuisance of themselves.
Perhaps the guidelines are being enforced this year as a means of containing that sort of behavior.
According to the Straits Times report, noise pollution was another reason for the move.
Mr K. Kannappan, trustee of the Sri Thendayuthapani Temple, said some residents along the procession’s 4km route from Serangoon Road to Tank Road complained about the noise last year. “So this year, we will be better neighbours,” he added.
(“Thaipusam set to tone down volume”, ST Jan 6)
But Mr Shan disagreed.
“Just tell me how many housing block flats. You can hardly count,” he said. “In Selegie Road you have a few flats and Upper Serangoon Road a few flats. That’s all only. And all the way from Tank Road to Penang Road, there is no housing block flats. Only shophouses and some buildings.”
One of the few residential buildings along the procession route
Regardless of reasons, Mr Shanmugam appeared to be taking a sterner approach this year, warning that anyone who persists in breaking the rules, not just during Thaipusam but at any other religious procession, will be “dealt with”. However, he also added that police officers at the procession would be allowed to “exercise discretion”.
TOC went to witness the procession on the morning of 20th Jan. While there was loud music and a festive atmosphere inside the temples, it was markedly quieter outside.
Most of the kavadi carriers were accompanied by only one tabla drummer. There were people singing religious hymns. Occasionally a kavadi bearer would break into a spinning frenzy and his supporters would cheer. But overall, the tone was subdued.
A plastic stool would most probably qualify as a banned musical instrument under the HEB guidelines
“In comparison to what I observed from last year’s encounter of Thaipusam, the atmosphere and volume is of stark difference,” said TOC photographer Terry Xu.
Still, if the following Youtube videos are any indication, there were pockets of defiance. Despite the threat of punishment, some people were clearly not afraid of making their displeasure known.
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tomiceisnice, 28 January 2011
some inaccuracy here, i din mention child abuse & any act of stupidity- having festive light-up isn’t an act of stupidity.
sick minority? care to explain further wad u mean?
u should migrate to a country if u cannot tolerate living in a multi-religious & multi-cultural country. in public swimming pool & the beach, people are often half-clothed (or less than half oso got). btw, the last time i checked, S’pore often prided itself as a multi-religious & multi-cultural country.
correction:
“u should migrate to a country if u cannot tolerate living in a multi-religious & multi-cultural country.”
to:
“u should migrate to ANOTHER country if u cannot tolerate living in a multi-religious & multi-cultural country.”
oops…
your stupid is outstanding. please go read the pervious posts. you should go back to what country you came from if you cannot understand that a civil society is not one that does not tolerate the nonsensical practices of religion, often inconisderate and immoral.
child abuse. since you don’t understand. during thaipusam, kids are mae to walk hald-clothed, without proper footwear, with what appears to be sharp objects being poked on their face. the children are also made to carry objects on their shoulders. the children are then made to go on a road march.
there is a huge difference between being tolerant of festivals like thaipusam, which encourages humans to put themselves in danger and festival lights.
get it?
i said it before, and i’ll say it again, get educated.
tomiceisnice,
You must check you thread before you post it; its riddle with typos and errors.
You have a view and an opinion just like everyone else but insults only demeans your viewpoint.
Ironic isn’t it?
Our racist northern neighbors allowed Thaipusam celebrated with all the usual sounds and CNY also with firecrackers. like them we always said we are multicultural society.
Face it. In Singapore only Chinese is allowed to do everything short of firecracker burning. Maybe they fear that sounds of Thaipusam celebrations could cover the noise of Malaysian army’s artillery salvos raining into Singapore? What happened to our state of the art defence capability? ha ha ha
apologies for the typo. i wasn’t insulting. here’s another ‘insult’ – religious people are often incapable of handling criticism of their religion, they find it insulting. :)
and someone who wonders why festival lights is allowed but practices like thaipusam runs into trouble is indeed stupid.
hard to be racist when not all indians are hindus. there are a lot of indians who are catholics and free-thinkers. which are the more enlightened indians? in my view, it’s not the ones poking themselves with sharp object. the next time you feel indians are discrimated against, do remember that a lot of indians will find walking on fire s stupid way to spend a weekend.
similarly, not all chinese follow the joss stick holding and paper burning of cny. many chinese are free-thinkers and christians.
tomiceisnice, 29 January 2011
dear poster, i did not mention anything about child abuse, if you can find it please quote it & include the post’s date. thanks.
btw, you have not explained what you mean by “sick minority” earlier on. now, on top of that, i would like to know examples of immoral religious practise/s & custom/s, you mentioned.
well, i may not understand Thaipusam, but i can understand that sometimes, just sometimes, there are paranoid people who can barely tolerate others who live lives quite different from themselves.
keke, if you’re that upset, maybe you can organise a protest at S’peaker’s Corner at Hong Lim Park, by 1stly writing an article about it. i am sure TOC will be glad to have it (child abuse case) published here.
all the best on organising the protest, i hope the police will give all the needed to go ahead with God-Speed!!
:D
Show me a perfect race or nation, I show you a deluded liar! Nobody is good or bad because they are Chinese, Indian, Malay, English, etc., or if they come from India, Singapore, Malaysia, etc., The problem is always the individual who choses to exercise his/her free will. You don’t need to be educated to do that either but the educated ones are the most dangerous!
NB; Fire-walking is also an activity carried out some western Management Consultancy on the issue of mind over matter philosophy.
name the company that conducts this. and pray tell which mgt consultancy encourages poking children with sharp objects and making them walk around the street half-naked? btw, religion tends to appeal to the more lowly educated. have a long long think about that one.