GOMBAK: The government will assist the Sri Subramaniar Swamy temple committee with regards to its development funds.
Digital Minister Gobind Singh Deo, representing the Madani government, said he had discussed the temple committee's requests with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
"The federal government has heard the requests from the committee; where they have previously briefed on the renovations that have been carried out in recent years, especially in terms of the buildings in this temple area.
"They will still want to continue the development of the area with upcoming works where they need funding.
"Therefore, I have discussed this with the prime minister yesterday where he said the government will assist in the request."
Gobind however did not explicitly mention the amount of funds to be allocated by the government as he is still waiting for the application from the temple's committee.
"We wait for the request regarding the desired amount. We will process that request as soon as we receive it," he said.
Gobind also said that he will push to promote the Thaipusam festival and its values to the world from a digital standpoint.
"From a digital perspective, I think what's important is to ensure that we can showcase the values we see in this Thaipusam celebration to the whole world.
"We will manage it through my ministry where we can ensure that the information we have, especially in visuals and many more can be distributed to the world so that when Thaipusam celebration happens, we can see more people coming to witness and experience this celebration for themselves.
"That's something I have been asked to look into, and we will see, and continue with those efforts in the near future."
Earlier, Gobind witnessed the Thaipusam celebrations and processions here.
Thaipusam marks the day when, according to Hindu belief, the goddess Parvathi bestowed Lord Muruga with a 'vel' (spear) to vanquish evil.
Also present were Human Resources Minister Steven Sim, India's High Commissioner B.N. Reddy and Batu Caves Temple chairman Tan Sri R. Nadarajah.