PETALING JAYA: Devotees celebrating Thaipusam came to the aid of a Malay woman as she was giving birth in a car near the Batu Caves Sri Subramaniar Temple this morning.
The birth took place as a bullock cart was being pulled around the temple compound for certain ceremonies and rituals.
Journalist LK Savantharaja said he was following the mini-procession when he and others heard a devotee screaming for help.
The devotee led them to a pickup truck, where they found the woman in pain, with her husband assisting her.
Several of the devotees tied pieces of their head cloths together to cover the windows of the pick-up truck and to shield them from the heat.
After the baby girl was safely delivered, Savantharaja was able to find a knife for the couple to cut the umbilical cord.
An ambulance arrived shortly afterwards to attend to the mother and newborn.
Savantharaja said those who came to the couple’s aid felt blessed by the birth of the baby girl. Some even shed tears.
“We help each other because we’re all Malaysians,” he said.