Subscribe in a reader | Subscribe by Email This is indeed good news. The temple (located in Linsun Estate, Rantau) was demolished by two estate workers (claimed to be the manager and clerk) who said they were from opposition party. This happened just before election.
Destroyed shrine, temples rebuilt
A temple in Lim Sun Estate, Rantau, being rebuilt after it was destroyed on March 5.
SEREMBAN: Two temples and a shrine at an estate near here which were destroyed just before polling day are being rebuilt and the individuals responsible have since been disciplined by the estate management.
The places of worship were destroyed on March 5 on the instructions of the estate manager, who was allegedly aligned to the opposition.
This greatly upset and angered the hundreds of Hindu workers in the Lin Sum Estate in Rantau, near here.
Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan intervened and assured the upset workers that the state government would speak to the estate owners and rectify the matter.
It is learnt representatives of Sime Darby visited the area on the night they were demolished and assured the workers that they would rebuild the places of worship.
Estate worker R. Muralitharen, said the shrine, which was located next to the workers’ quarters, was rebuilt just three days after the incident, while structural work for the two temples was complete.
Muralitharen said the workers were thankful to the menteri besar for his timely intervention and also thanked the estate owners for rebuilding their temples and shrine.
State MIC chairman Datuk T. Rajagopalu also thanked the menteri besar and Sime Darby for their quick action in rectifying the situation.
“Estate managements must be careful not to meddle with people’s religious affairs.
“This issue is very sensitive and once you have upset them over these things, the damage is sometimes irreversible,” he said.
Sime Darby rebuilds demolished Hindu temples in Negri estate
Bernama
source
KUALA LUMPUR, Wed:
Sime Darby Berhad has fulfilled its promise to rebuild two Hindu temples demolished in an estate belonging to the company in Rantau Negeri Sembilan. The temples were demolished in the midst of the recently-concluded general election.
The company’s executive vice-president (plantation and agri-business division) Datuk Azhar Abdul Hamid said the temples were rebuilt with stronger foundation and designed according to specification of the estate’s temple committee.
“The temple committee will now pick up an auspicious day to perform the necessary religious rites before the workers can worship there. We tried to minimise disruptions to the people’s religious practices by rebuilding the temple as quickly as possible,” he said in a statement here today.
On March 5, two small Hindu temples and a shrine at Lin Sum estate, a division of Bradwall Estate belonging to Sime Darby, were [demolished].
He said after an investigation, disciplinary action was taken against individuals responsible for the demolition, adding that the company was committed to correcting what had happened.
Lin Sum estate is situated in Rantau state constituency which is represented by Negeri Sembilan Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamed Hasan. In the March 8 general election, Mohamed defended the seat by defeating Parti Keadilan Nasional candidate Aisah Lamsah with 3,783 majority.
Shrine in the estate
Demolished temples rebuilt, culprits disciplined
Mar 20, 08 11:35am
http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/80136
Plantation giant Sime Darby has revealed that it had investigated and disciplined individuals who were responsible for demolishing two small Hindu temples and a shrine in Bradwall Estate in Rantau, Negeri Sembilan.
The temples and shrine were demolished on March 5 at Lin Sum estate, a division of Bradwall estate, causing anger among hundreds of Hindu workers in the estate. News of the demolitions also prompted many to accuse the temple management of tearing down the structures without having any respect for Hindus in the estate.
Sime Darby issued a statement yesterday to clarify the matter, stating that it took immediate steps to assure estate workers that the demolished structures would be replaced and the culprits brought to action. Sime Darby however did not disclose who demolished the shrine and the two temples. It also did not reveal what action was taken against them.
The plantation giant said that its executive vice president Azhar Abdul Hamid and other senior managers visited the estate on the night of the demolition and assured estate workers that all demolished structures would be rebuilt immediately. It added that two days later, work on the small shrine next to the workers’ quarters was completed. Sime Darby also said that it worked with the estate’s temple committee and estate workers to rebuild the other two temples according to the specifications of the committee, stating that all foundation and structural works for both the temples were completed.
Politically-motivated
It added that it was now up to the temple committee to pick an auspicious day to perform the necessary religious rites before workers can worship there. “We tried to minimise disruption to the people’s religious practices by rebuilding the temples as quickly as possible.
“This was an unsanctioned incident and we want to assure the workers at Bradwall Estate that we are committed to correcting what happened. That is why reconstruction of the shrine and temples were completed so quickly,” said Azhar.
In the aftermath of the demolition, Negeri Sembilan Menteri Besar Mohamad Hasan claimed that the demolition was politically-motivated, undertaken by certain quarters who tried to incite hatred towards Barisan Nasional candidates.
Mohamad, who was contesting to retain the Rantau state seat then, said he was told by those responsible that they wanted to see how well BN would handle the matter.
“They also said they wanted to see how many votes (Umno Youth vice-head) Khairy Jamaluddin, the BN candidate for the Rembau parliamentary seat, would get on Saturday (as a result of the incident),” he had said. Both Mohamad and Khairy won their seats in the election.
