Exclusive photos inside Malaysia Hindu Sangam, the umbrella body for people of that faith, today blamed the Shah Alam City Council for the violence which occurred during the demolition of a temple in Kampung Rimba Jaya on Tuesday.

MHS president A Vaithilingam said MBSA mayor Za'ba Che Rus had no control over his enforcement officers who were throwing stones into the temple while a special religious ceremony was taking place (see exclusive photos, left and below).

"The confrontational retaliatory action by the MBSA enforcement officers was in our opinion the cause for the violence in the temple," said Vaithilingam in a faxed statement.

When contacted for clarifications, Vaithilingam said eye-witness reports claim MBSA enforcement officers were initially pelted with stones from a group of unknown individuals.

"But it did not come from the temple. How can they (MBSA personnel) attack devotees like that? No enforcement body in the world attacks people with stones," he said.

In his written statement, Vaithilingam said those injured at the hands of MBSA enforcement officers included T Ganesa, the Selangor chairperson of MHS.

However, he stressed that the police were restrained compared to MBSA officers.

Against procedures

Vaithilingam also slammed Za'ba for allegedly personally telling temple authorities at 9am on Tuesday that the temple was to be demolished in the next two hours.

He said the temple was a large structure with many facilities that cannot be relocated in the short period of time.

"What else can the innocent devotees do when given only two hours? Attempting to destroy deities (in the temple) is very sensitive and is considered an insult to the Hindu community," he added.

Vaithilingam also criticised Za'ba for reneging an agreement between MBSA, the Selangor state government, MIC officials and temple officials on Oct 28.

The deal apparently gave the temple a grace period until Deepavali celebrations. Deepavali will be celebrated by all Hindus on Nov 8.

Vaithilingam also urged MIC leaders to open dialogue with leaders of the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) to resolve the matter.

Five-inch parang wound

In a separate development, Hindraf legal advisor P Uthayakumar revealed that some of the devotees who suffered injuries during the scuffle were not given immediate medical attention.

Citing an example, Uthayakumar said that he witnessed one detainee who had a five-inch cut on the head while he was detained at the Section 11 Shah Alam police station.

He claimed that the wound was inflicted by a MBSA enforcement officer with a parang. He added that the detainee was not given medical attention even after 24-hours of the incident.

"Only after persistent appeals by Hindraf did the police take this victim to the hospital," said Uthayakumar, in a letter to Attorney-General Abdul Gani Patail. The letter was made available to Malaysiakini.

In his letter, Uthayakumar urged Abdul Gani to take immediate action against those responsible for the injuries suffered by devotees during the open fracas.

Uthayakumar and three other lawyers were arrested while accompanying devotees who were lodging a report on the incident in Kampung Karuppiah, which is located within Kampung Rimba Jaya.


(Photos taken by eyewitnesses)

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