By M. SIVANANTHA SHARMA north@thestar.com.my
HINDU temple committees building temples on private land should get approval from the local council and the landowner.
Penang Health, Welfare and Ca-ring Society Committee chairman P.K. Subbaiyah said they had to adhere to the local by-laws and guidelines when building new temples.
He said there were many cases of temples being built without prior approval from local authorities and they had to be torn down, he said.
“This creates unhappiness among the Hindu community,” Subbaiyah said at the Malaysia Hindu Sangam’s Butterworth Council 21st Thirumurai (Hindu religious hymns) Recital Contest recently.
He said there were cases where temples were demolished and new ones built without the knowledge of the landowners.
Subbaiyah, who is also the state MIC liaison committee vice-chairman and Bagan Dalam assemblyman, said MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu had instructed all Indian elected representatives nationwide to form a committee to look into the these matters.
He added that these stubborn temple committees continued to disregard the advice and they come to seek MIC’s help when they were in trouble.
“Some even went a step further by making illegal renovations and expansions without approval,” he said.
Subbaiyah advised them to go through proper channels to avoid unnecessary problems.