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PENANG, MALAYSIA, September 23, 2003: The Malaysia Hindu Sangam is outraged over the sale of imported statues of the Lord Ganesha which were altered and had additional accessories. The Malaysia Hindu Sangam Penang state council chairman, P. Murugiah, said statues of the Hindu Deity wearing a turban and a pair of shoes and holding a handphone were being sold in several shops in the northern region. “The altered statues are offensive and give a distorted depiction of Lord Ganesha,” he said, adding that the statues belittled the Hindu religion. Murugiah has filed a formal complaint with the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry, the Home Ministry and the Prime Minister’s Department. He said a few years ago statues of Lord Ganesha wearing a coat and a hat were sold. “We filed a complaint and the Government took action against the retailers and distributors, but now they are back with another modified statue,” he said. Murugiah said the distorted version of Lord Ganesha produced by manufacturers in India was not only humiliating to Hindus but also a degrading sales gimmick. He added that he would write to the Indian religious authorities and the Indian Customs to stop the export of such statues to Malaysia. “On behalf of the local Hindu community, we demand that the importers and distributors of the statues stop selling the degrading statues,” he said.

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