Malaysian Temple Libraries for Indian Culture

Hindu temples throughout Malaysia should set up libraries to allow devotees to gain knowledge of Indian customs and traditions, an ethnic Indian minister has said. Deputy Federal Territories and Urban Wellbeing Minister M. Saravanan has been quoted in Makkal Osai, a Tamil newspaper, as saying that temple committees should also look into conducting religious and moral classes for youngsters. He said parents must encourage their children to attend these classes so that they could be well-versed in Indian practices and traditions, The Daily Star reported. After attending a donation drive for the Sri Maha Kaliamman Temple in Serdang, Kedah state, Sarvanan said many youngsters face social problems as they lack proper guidance from their parents and teachers. Malaysia's nearly two million ethnic Indian community, a bulk of them Tamils who came here during the British era, face socio-economic problems like high incidence of divorce, crime rate and destitution, media reports have said.