Temple torn down without state's knowledge

The Ampang Jaya Municipal Council (MPAJ) ordered the demolition of the 19-year old Sri Maha Kaliamman temple without the knowledge or directive of the Selangor state government, said executive councillor Dr Xavier Jayakumar.

Jayakumar told Malaysiakini the MPAJ did not even inform the state government of its intention to tear down the temple.

He said the temple was also not registered with the Selangor state council.

“We have a format prepared for temples in Selangor to register with the state but this temple was not on the list of registered temples. And it is not a temple, it is a shrine which it is located on a forest reserve,” he said.

Jayakumar is the PKR assemblyperson for Seri Andalas who heads the state committee on non-Muslim matters alongside Pakatan Rakyat colleagues Teresa Kok and Ronnie Liu from the DAP.

Yesterday, MIC president S Samy Vellu ticked off the opposition-led state government for breaking its election promise to not demolish any temples.

“It is very careless of the local council to demolish the temple without first relocating the temple,” Samy said in a statement.

Jayakumar however denied the accusation, claiming the MIC was trying to politicise the issue. Instead, the relevant authorities should waste no time finding a way to restore the temple which was torn down on Sept 10, he added.

“Pointing fingers at another is not going to solve the problem,” he said. “It was actually demolished in 2002 but the temple committee had it rebuilt when the opposition came into power March this year. But they failed to register it.”

Jayakumar, who has laid the blame on certain quarters within the MPAJ enforcement unit, also gave his assurance that the matter was being investigated.

Meanwhile, the temple's chairman S Murugiah has demanded to know who was responsible for tearing down the temple. The 37-year old told Malaysiakini that he suspected someone had reported on the shrine and this had led to its demolition.

Misunderstanding

Meanwhile, Ampang MP Zuraida Kamaruddin said the demolition was probably the result of misunderstanding between the municipal authorities and the temple committee.

“The incident happened following a misunderstanding between MPAJ and the temple management on renovation works and documentations relating to management procedures,” said Zuraida, who is PKR Wanita chief, in a statement today.

According to Zuraida, some MPAJ councillors had already met with the council’s vice-chief to resolve the matter. Some documents have already been prepared and were under consideration, she added.

She also pointed out that Murugiah had previously complained the temple’s problems had not been resolved by the previous Barisan Nasional state government even after 19 years.

Finally, Zuraida blasted the MIC for trying to take advantage of the current situation, accusing it of trying to create backlash for the Pakatan Rakyat government.

“The component BN party is taking this opportunity to try and restore its organisation and their reports were made to attract attention,” she said.

Still, the PKR Wanita chief failed to explain in her statement how it came about that the temple could have been demolished.