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April 18, 2008 20:50 IST
The Malaysian government has approved an intake of 800 priests and musicians from India for Hindu temples and Sikh gurdwaras, a move seen as an attempt to appease the ethnic Indian community complaining of discrimination.
Of the 800, a total of 500 priests and musicians will be recruited for Hindu temples while the rest for gurdwaras, the official Bernama news agency reported.
The report comes a day after Human Resource Minister S Subramaniam said the Cabinet had decided on allowing and renewing visas and permits for Hindu priests, musicians and artisans from India.
Ethnic Indian leader and the president of the Malaysian Indian Congress, Samy Vellu, had earlier this week met Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar and urged him to end the ban on the recruitment of "urgently needed" priests from India.
Thanking the government, Vellu said many temples would have had to close down if the approval had not been given.
"I thank the government for having given the approval. Had the problem not been resolved, many temples would have had to close," the former minister was quoted as saying by Bernama.
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