Workers at a resort in Johor, where its surau was used by Buddhists to meditate, are now worried about their livelihoods as the resort has been temporarily shut down after the incident broke out last week.

The Star reported that eight workers, who live on the grounds, are also afraid of vigilantes and are taking turns to guard the area.

“Since the incident, our employer has decided to cancel all reservations and temporarily shut down the resort,” supervisor Kanang Margono was quoted as saying.

“We are afraid and although the main gates are locked, we take turns to keep watch, especially at night, just to ensure that no one tries to break into the area to create trouble.”

The resort's owner, whom Kanang described as “a kind person (who) always treated his employees well”, was remanded last Tuesday and released under police bond on Aug 16 after four days.

He is being investigated under Section 295 of the Penal Code for injuring or defiling a place of worship with intent to insult the religion of any class, when he allowed Buddhist travellers to meditate in the surau.

A Singaporean citizen, his Malaysian permanent residency was also revoked following the incident.

Meanwhile, The Star reported that Mohd Nazri Mohd Yusod, a religious teacher from a village near the resort, had said the issue was blown out of proportion.

“Most of the villagers here are peaceful people but there are certain groups and non-governmental organisation from outside the area who come in and start stirring things up when they learnt what had happened,” he reportedly said.

The daily also quoted another villager as saying that business at his coffee shop has dropped since the incident as the resort used to cater to “bus-loads” of tourists who go on tours of the village.