Devotees of a Hindu temple have threatened to carry out citizen's arrest against local council officers who seek to demolish the Sri Muniswarar temple in Petaling Jaya.

In a letter to the Petaling Jaya Municipal Council (MPPJ), the temple committee accused the council of demolishing part of the temple on Dec 24 without any prior notice.

Should the local council return to finish its job, action will be taken against them, said the letter signed by lawyer P Uthayakumar.

"If you (MPPJ) continue with this illegal action, our client might have ... to stop your criminal behaviour and or, perform citizen's arrest on your employees where you will be held responsible for any unfortunate incidents," it added.

Contacted yesterday, Uthayakumar, who is also Parti Reformasi Insan Malaysaia (Prim) pro-tem secretary, explained that MPPJ had mostly demolished the temple, although it has been since been rebuilt.

In the letter, the council was accused of intruding into the area and demolishing the wooden and cement temple (see pics).

Temple funds worth RM7,000 which were in a collection box and two gold chains worth RM1,500 which were also alleged to have been stolen during the incident.

Copies of the letter were sent to Selangor Mentri Besar Dr Mohd Khir Toyo and MPPJ president Abdul Karim Munisar.

Appeal to PM

Uthayakumar explained that the authorities had to follow certain guidelines before they can take such action.

"According to building by-laws, the state government must provide (alternative) places of worship before any demolition... but they have not done that," he said.

"What they did was totally insensitive. They should be more respectful and should have consulted a Hindu body instead of taking the law into their own hands," he said.

Meanwhile, Prim pro tem deputy secretary-general RN Rajah has issued a letter of appeal in conjunction with the Ponggal (harvest) festival urging Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to prevent further "indiscriminate breakings" of Hindu temples.

According to Rajah, one Hindu temple is demolished every two to three weeks in the country.

"We regret to note that this alarming state of affairs does not happen anywhere else in the world except in Malaysia," he said.

Such incidents can lead to racial and religious disharmony and tensions which is against the spirit of national unity and integration, he warned.

MPPJ public relations officer Haniza Abd Hamid when contacted said she would respond at an appropriate time. However up to press time, no response had come forth.