Update at 11.49pm: Malaysiakini mentions:

Contacted later, Mahyuddin distanced his organisation from the act of bringing the cow head to the protest.

“It is not our intention. We were surprised,” he said, denying that the act was intended to insult Hindus.

He said that the cow head was likely brought by angry residents.

“Maybe, they meant it (as a symbol of) stupidity. In Malay culture, the cow is a symbol of stupidity, or leaders that are stupid,” he said.

Looks like this guy is trying to evade responsibility for the crime the group committed. Will the investigations reveal “lack of evidence” later?

Also, The Star Online finally came out with a muted report:

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has asked the Inspector-General of Police to investigate a protest by a group against the proposed relocation of a Hindu temple in Shah Alam.

Human Resources Minister Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam said Najib had also told him that he was upset with the incident.

The protesters, numbering 50, marched some 300m from the state mosque to the state secretariat building in Shah Alam Friday.

“Their actions, if not controlled from the beginning, may create unnecessary racial tension,” Dr Subramaniam said.

MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu said the authorities should not allow anyone to challenge or ridicule any religion in this country.

“I urge everyone to be calm and let the authorities deal with it,” he said.

Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin, in an email, condemned the protest and said such actions posed a threat to national security.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon, in a statement, urged the state government to resolve the issue quickly, peacefully and rationally.

NST was more daring:

About 50 people gathered at the gates of the State Secretariat building here carrying a cow head and warned of further action if a temple is constructed in Section 23 here.

The group marched from the State Mosque about 300 metres away after Friday prayers.

Once at the gates of the building, they unfurled several banners calling for the temple to be moved and also on the beer issue.

They were at the gates for only 15 minutes before being dispersed by the police.

Some of the residents of Section 23, protesting against the temple relocation, demonstrated in front of the Selangor State Government Secretariat in Shah Alam today. Bernama pic.

The group, who claimed to be residents from Section 23, shouted the names of Menteri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim and executive councillor Dr Xavier Jayakumar, and said the cow head was for them.

The new temple in Section 23 was supposed to be the relocated Sri Maha Mariamman temple currently in Section 19.

The Section 19 temple is about 150 years’ old and originally located in a plantation, but when the State Economic Development Corporation decided to develop the area into a housing estate, it left the temple there.

It was supposed to be relocated, but the problem had been left idle for many years.

Initially the temple was supposed to be relocated in an industrial area in Section 22 but it was moved to Section 23 to make it more accessible for devotees.

However a group of people in the area have protested against it, saying it is a Muslim majority area and no temples should be allowed to be built there.

About 40 per cent of the population in the area are believed to be Hindus.

Meanwhile in an immediate response, MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu strongly condemned the action by the group.

“The cow is a sacred animal of the Hindus, and for this group to resort to such action, is intolerable and tantamount to challenging the freedom of religion as enshrined in the Malaysian Constitution.

He said nobody can be allowed to challenge or ridicule any religion in this country.

“I worry that this action may lead to retaliation from the Hindu community. However, I wish to urge the Hindus to be calm and let the authorities deal with it.

“The MIC is calling on the Government and the police to take action against the organisers of this group and their followers. They must be punished according to the law for endangering the racial harmony in this country.”

Meanwhile Human Resources Minister Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam said while Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak was promoting the 1Malaysia concept and racial unity, this kind of action would hinder the process and turn back the clock.

Dr Subramaniam said he had spoken to Prime Minister Najib Razak on the incident.

It may be dead, but stepping on the head of cow and spitting on it is abusive, vile, vicious, and unbecoming of people who claim to profess any religion. They have brought untold shame to their religion. This barbaric action is unforgivable, given that they just finished their prayers. Their evil action did not get support from the majority (only 50 people, whereas the Friday prayers crowd will see thousands attending in Shah Alam). Its time for DVS, PAWS or SPCA to lodge police report on animal abuse

I’ve surfed NST and Star online, but nothing on this issue till 8.45pm. Same with TV3 News.  Only Malaysiakini carrying the news since 3.00pm or so.

The news:

Some 50 residents enraged with the proposed relocation of a Hindu temple to their area staged a noisy protest with a severed cow’s head this afternoon.

The residents – from Section 23 in Shah Alam – who gathered after the Friday prayers, placed the head outside the gates of the state secretariat building for a short period before removing it.

“Where is Xavier? This head is for him,” shouted one of the protesters in reference to Selangor executive councillor Dr Xavier Jeyakumar.

Jeyakumar is one of those in charge of non-Muslim affairs in the state.

Earlier, the protesters had marched some 300m from the state mosque to the state secretariat building.

The protesters also condemned Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim, exco member Rodziah Ismail (as the area falls under her state constituency) and Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad.

Before dispersing, several protesters spat and stomped on the cow’s head. The cow is considered sacred among Hindus.

Addressing the crowd, Section 23 action committee deputy chair Ibrahim Sabri said: “If there is blood, you (the state government) will be responsible if you are adamant about building the temple.”

“This is a warning. Relocate the temple to Section 22. This cow is a present to the state government. This is a gift from us,” he added.

The protesters also carried several banners which among others read ‘Take Beer’ (mocking PAS’ rallying cry of ‘Takbir’) and ‘Illegal temples are very small, but once relocated, they are as big as Putrajaya‘.

The crowd gathered for about 15 minutes at the main entrance of the state secretariat building under the watch of more than a dozen police personnel. [what were the police doing?]

‘We’ll not budge an inch’

Speaking to reporters later, Action Committee chair Mahyuddin Manaf warned that the state government must give in or the residents would retaliate.

“We will not budge one inch, even if lives are lost or blood is made to flow. We will still defend Section 23 from having a temple built there,” he said.[Hmm…later don’t blame anyone if you are in trouble with the law]
He added that a protest memorandum was forwarded to the state government two months ago but there has been no response.

On Aug 11, the state government announced that the relocation of the temple from Section 19 to Section 23 was final and will be situated 200m from the nearest house and 400m from a surau.

The temple will face an industrial lot and will be separated from the houses by a playground and a multi-purpose hall.

However, some residents felt that it was not appropriate to build a temple in a Muslim-majority area.

The Pakatan Rakyat state government accused rivals Umno of instigating the crowd to protest the relocation.

Jeyakumar to lodge police report

In an immediate reaction, a furious Jeyakumar described the protest as “unwarranted, unacceptable and without sensitivity towards other religions.”

He also said that he will lodge a police report on the matter soon.

“These people should have ethics. They are inciting racial and religious hatred. I am going to lodge a police report against these people,” he told Malaysiakini.

He also expressed disappointment towards the police personnel at the scene for not taking any action against the protesters.

“The police didn’t stop anybody. The police should have arrested them and charged them for inciting hatred,” he said, adding that he could tolerate with “ethical” demonstrations.

Following this, MIC’s Dr S.Subra said the following:

Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak is outraged over this afternoon’s ‘cow head’ protest in Shah Alam, said Human Resources Minister Dr S Subramaniam.

The MIC secretary-general told Malaysiakini that Najib had conveyed his disappointment when he telephoned him regarding the incident.

“The prime minister was very upset. He promised to look into the problem and nip it in the bud,” he said.

“Some 15 minutes later, the prime minister called back and said that he had spoken to Inspector-General of Police (Musa Hassan) and instructed him to take immediate action,” he added. [however, I heard nothing on the TV from PM or the IGP. So, just have to take Dr S.Subra’s words]

In a statement earlier, Subramaniam said incidents such as these hinder the 1 Malaysia concept being promoted by the premier and serve to only ‘turn back the clock’.

After performing their Friday prayers, some 50 angry residents from Section 23 in Shah Alam marched with the cow’s head to protest against the relocation of a Hindu temple to their area.

The protesters had marched from the state mosque to the state secretariat building.

“The group took their protest to the extreme by bringing a severed cow’s head which clearly is a sign of disrespect to the Hindu community,” Subramaniam said.

“It has emotionally angered the Hindus and if it is not controlled from the beginning, it may create unnecessary racial tension,” he warned.

Samy Vellu: This is intolerable

Meanwhile, Penang Deputy Chief Minister II P Ramasamy called the protest a “disgraceful” act.

“It was very uncivilised and brutish…and the group had just come after attending their (Friday) prayers,” the DAP leader said.

Also seeing red over the incident was MIC president S Samy Vellu, who called it an “intolerable” act carried out by an “extremist group.”

“The cow is a sacred animal of the Hindus, and for this group to resort to such action, is intolerable and tantamount to challenging the freedom of religion as enshrined in the Malaysian Constitution.

“It is the right of Malaysians of any faith, including Hindus to build temples and other places of worships. I am very sad that this group had paraded the cow’s head on their way to the state secretariat building,” he said in a statement.

“We must not allow anyone to challenge or ridicule any religion in this country. I am worried that this action may lead to retaliation from the Hindu community. However, I wish to urge the Hindus especially to be calm and let the authorities deal with it,” he added.

Samy Vellu called on the government and the police to take action against the organisers of this protest.

They must be punished according to the law for endangering racial harmony in this country, he added.

MIC Youth was also appalled and expressed shock over the protest.

“It is a very shameful and disgraceful act and they do not seem to have any feelings for the sentiments of the Hindu community,” said the wing’s chief T Mohan.

“We strongly condemn their actions and call on the authorities to take immediate action. There are proper channels to express one’s views but ridiculing the Hindu religion reflects the shallow minds of the protesters,” he added.

Human Rights Party leader P Uthayakumar was disappointed that the police did not arrest those involved in the protest.

He said the Attorney-General’s Chambers should initiate criminal proceedings and charge them under Sections 298 and 298 (A) of the Penal Code read together with Article 11 of the Federal Constitution.

Section 298 concerns the offence of uttering words etc with the deliberate intent to wound religious feelings while Section 298 (A) is related to the offence of causing disharmony.

Makkal Sakthi Party president S Thanendran also condemned the protest as a “barbaric” act.

He urged the Selangor government as well as the police not to tolerate this sort of behaviour and to take stern action against the protesters.

“How can a temple disturb the peace of these people?

“Things can become really ugly if we start raising other questions,” he said.

And our esteemed police chief had to say this:

Selangor police chief Khalid Abu Bakar today called on the public to remain calm in the wake of a protest against a proposed temple relocation which saw some 50 angry residents marching with a severed cow’s head in Shah Alam.

The police chief also cautioned the public against holding demonstrations which touch on religious sensitivities.

“There was no police permit for this protest. It was an illegal gathering. The crowd gathered for about 15 minutes and dispersed after they were instructed to do so.

“They were also ordered to remove the cow’s head, which they complied,” he told Malaysiakini.

As of now, Khalid said no police report has been lodged over the incident.

“If a report is lodged, we will definitely take the necessary action,” he stressed.

Expressing regret over the incident, the police chief reiterated that everyone should respect religious and racial sensitivities and not resort to such actions.

Exco to lodge police report

Selangor executive councillor Dr Xavier Jeyakumar said he would be lodging a police report over the matter soon. [waiting for what?]

He also expressed disappointment with police personnel who were at the scene for not taking action.

Following this afternoon’s Friday prayers, some 50 residents from Section 23 marched from the state mosque to the secretariat building in Shah Alam with the cow’s head.

The protesters then placed the cow’s head outside the gates of the state secretariat building before removing it later.

The protest evoked condemnation from various quarters, including MIC president S Samy Vellu and Penang Deputy Chief Minister II P Ramasamy.

Samy Vellu, who was saddened by the incident, urged the police to take action against the organisers.

Granted, this is an act by some people who were instigated, and most of the rakyat seem to know who are the perpetrators. The hooligans mentioned all kind of threats and the police still waiting for someone to make a report. How efficient and law-abiding. Since the state government said they will be meeting the folks of Section 23 to explain, why not wait? Worried that the residents will be convinced by the explanation?

There’s some hidden agenda here. While we need to address why the temple’s initial proposed location at Section 22 was changed to Section 23, the action by these few barbarians are not helping to solve the problem at all.