IPOH, April 27 — The Perak government has expressed regret over and views seriously the smashing of idols at a Hindu temple here on Sunday.

Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir said it would not allow anyone to cause tension among the people and instructed the authorities to take immediate action to investigate and resolve the matter.

“Such incidents should not be allowed because it would cause racial and religious problems in the state.

“The state government will not protect anyone who attempts to create chaos by carrying out such acts. We will also not tolerate those who take advantage of these incidents to provoke disputes,” he said here yesterday.

Zambry spoke to reporters after witnessing the signing of a memorandum of agreement for academic cooperation between Kolej Universiti Islam Sultan Azlan Shah and the London School of Business and Management in collaboration with the University of Northampton.

A 29-year-old man believed to be of unsound mind had smashed the idols at the Sree Muneeswarar Amman Temple in Jalan Hospital at about 5pm and then driven his car against traffic along Jalan Ghazali Jawi and crashed it onto a bus shelter.

Police arrested the man and sent him to Hospital Bahagia in Tanjung Rambutan for a medical examination. — Bernama