Ting (second left) addresses the congregation at the start of the Navaratri festival as (from left) Lukanisman, Sivashakaran and Jegannathan look on.
MIRI:The Hindu community here celebrated Navaratri and Thiruvila festivals beginning on Wednesday night (Oct 10) with various religious activities to commemorate the victory of goddess Durga over evil.
The nine-night annual festivals held for the second year at Sri Kamini Durga Eswari Amman temple in Taman Tunku will end on Oct 19.
Sibuti MP Lukanisman Lokman and Piasau assemblyman Datuk Sebastian Ting were the guests of honour at the launch of the festivals attended by over 200 Hindu devotees here and other invited guests.
Also present were Miri Hindu Society (MHS) chairman Sivashakaran Nair and vice chairman Jegannathan Maran who is also the organising chairman of the festivals and the temple chief priest Siga Gurukal.
Ting in his brief address lauded the festival organising committee for holding the celebration which truly reflected the Malaysian society especially those in Sarawak where the various festivals were celebrated together with people from other races.
“We in Sarawak need to maintain this spirit of inclusiveness to allow others to join in the festivals and celebrations to enhance unity and harmony,” he said.
Lukanisman who also spoke shared Ting’s view and hoped that the Hindus will continue to organise more activities to promote greater interaction and understanding among the people of different religions and races.
“I am looking forward to the many activities proposed including lunch to be held here to which I have been invited. This is the Sarawak government leadership style under Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) led by Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg, that prioritised racial, religious and political harmony,” he added.
He assured he will do his best to serve the community and voice the people’s wishes including Sarawak’s determination in reclaiming its rights under the Malaysia Agreement (MA63).
At the function Ting announced the recent approval of RM80,000 in government grant under the rural transformation programme (RTP) to help the temple cement its compound while Lukanisman also approved RM10,000 grant for the temple to organise various activities.
Meanwhile Sivashakaran said Navarathri (or Navaratri) is an annual festival celebrated by Hindus which symbolises victory of goddess Durga killing the evil.
Navaratri prayers will be held for nine days followed by the annual temple Thiruvila festival for two days.
Among the activities held throughout the festivals are homas (ritual), milk pot procession and traditional performances such as Bharathnatyam, recital of legends and enacting the story.
“Each of the nine-day celebration has its own significance dedicated to specific goddesses.
“The first three days (Oct 10-12) of the celebration are dedicated to Goddess Durga, the successive three days (Oct 13-15) are dedicated to Goddess Lakshmi while the last three days (Oct 16-18) are for prayers to Goddess Saraswati.
On the last day known as Vijayadashami (Dussehra), the statue symbolising the evil is burnt to mark its destruction,” he said. Sivasankaran also invited all Hindus devotees to take part in the Navarathri and Thiruvilla celebrations.
Devotees parade Goddess Durga around the temple as part of the activities to commemorate Navaratri and Thiruvila festivals.