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It seems that all this while, there were certain rulings for building places of worship in Selangor. In particular, there are limitation in terms of size (10,000 sqft), and land allocation by developer for new housing projects (0.4ha). There’s also limitation in terms of height, it seems. Wonder why the previous state government discriminated so much? Is it due to inaction by the community leaders or leaders refusing to listen to coalition partners? I remember folks talking about the temples not allowed to be taller than the nearby mosques. Not sure how true it was, but the statement by Dr Xavier indicates some truth in that notion. The following excerpts are from The Star:

SHAH ALAM: Non-Muslim places of worship in Selangor will have a higher annual allocation and the limit on the land size removed, under proposed changes to the guidelines.  Also proposed will be that all land earmarked for places of worship should not be located near oxidation pond, septic tanks, high tension wires or large drains.

State health, plantation workers, poverty and caring government committee chairman Dr Xavier Jayakumar said he felt the current RM3mil allocation from the state government was too small compared to its large population.  He said he would recommend to the state executive council to raise the amount substantially in next year’s budget but declined to reveal the amount sought for.

He added the current 930 sq m limit for the size and limits on height and length of the buildings should not be fixed because there were many things to be considered like the location and needs of the community.

Dr Xavier said he and Liu felt the current condition for a 0.4ha land allocation for non-Muslim places worship in major development was inadequate given the large population in such areas.

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However, in NST, it is stated that the limits has been abolished:

SHAH ALAM: A requirement that limits new non-Muslim places of worship to 10,000 sq feet has been abolished by the state government. State Health, Plantation Workers, Poverty and Caring Government Committee chairman Dr A. Xavier Jayakumar said the requirement was impractical and as such, no predetermined limits on size, length and height would be imposed on any religious community.  Dr Xavier said town planners must consider the size and needs of the communities.”The proposed places of worship should be big enough to cater to the needs of a particular religious community in any area.”

He said no more places of worship would be built next to sewage ponds, high-tension wires or power substations.

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Well, in this instance, the authorities are not directly involved. The questions being raised is the inaction by the police on various reports made by the temple caretaker for last two years. Its related to the dubious manner of the land ownership transfer. Unfortunately, the temple lost the court case years ago, thus no option but to relocate. The caretaker had put in an application to set aside the ruling, but the owner is not bothered to wait. Perhaps the court should put up a restraining or stop-work kind of order. Then we can see if the police follow the court decision or not.

Until then, the police won’t be protecting the temple since court ruled otherwise. I’m sure in this instance, the police will follow the rule of the law and protect the owner. The only option is to provide proof of embezzlement or criminal action by the new owner. But even then, a recent landmark case involving land transfer shows that the “sale” or “transfer” is valid (even though invalid methods are used) and the buyer’s rights are protected. The actual owner (whose land title was transferred without their knowlege) lost their case. So, again I think legal avenue will be failure as well.

Since the owner is private (individual), he won’t be so charitable to allocate a plot for the temple. He won’t be standing for any election is not worried position and power. Only thing is that, if indeed he cheated in order to own the land, Amman will ensure he and his future generation pays many folds. That’s natural law.

Next option is political intervention - perhaps PR government will create much hassle until the new owner can’t do any development in the land. Or just buy the land and convert it into park. temple, school land etc. This would be a big challenge for new Kapar MP Manikavasagam. I’m sure Komala is waiting happily to seize the opportunity and hentam him.

They way I see it, only political or divine intervention can save the temple. Perhaps the owner will have a dream soon!

Kapar seems to be in the papers due to land issues nowadays.

MP Manikavasagam have written on his website about the issue. Photos are available at his Picasa site.

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Kannan (Hindraf Coordinator) provides an account of the happenings (via email): Continue Reading »

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Not sure who are the rest of the committee members, so we can’t really comment on how these 4 will impact the decision-making. Since its mentioned that previous state government had formed the panel, we can see that more responsibility for the state assemblymen. I hope they don’t suffer a burnout soon.

I think its high time for someone to keep track of the all the posts each assemblymen is holding coz I’m losing count.

That aside, we obviously we hope that with the addition of the assemblymen, future places of worship problems will not arise or will be solved amicably.

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Four reps appointed to religious panel

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THE Penang Government has appointed four state assembly-men from different religions to the Non-Muslim Worship Committee, a state body that deals with complaints and disputes regarding non-Muslim institutions. They are state Town, Country Planning and Housing Committee chairman Wong Hon Wai (Air Itam), state Local Government, Traffic Management and Environment Committee chairman Chow Kon Yeow (Padang Kota), Penang Hindu Endowment Board chairman A. Tanasekharan (Bagan Dalam) and Jagdeep Singh Deo (Datuk Keramat). Wong, who heads the committee, is a Buddhist while, Chow is a Christian, Tanasekharan a Hindu and Jagdeep Singh a Sikh.

Wong said the committee would deal directly with government agencies to expedite the handling of disputes and issues. “There are many issues when it comes to religion. The committee’s job is to help settle disputes regarding land issues, the location of new temples, churches and gurdwaras, cemetery placements and all other issues that affect non-Muslim religions,” he said.  He said the past state administration had formed the committee and the appointment of the assemblymen was done at the state exco meeting last Friday.

When asked about the Gurdwara Sahib Bayan Baru Association’s appeal for a 0.4ha piece of land adjoining the Snake Temple in Bayan Lepas, Wong said Jagdeep Singh had highlighted the issue to the committee and they were currently waiting for relevant government agencies to provide reports.

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