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While there is a protest over building of a surau in Desa Mentari, the new Selangor government faces another potential bomb in Shah Alam, this time over a Buddhist park. The Bodhi Park project by Young Buddhist Foundation Malaysia is to be located in Section U12, Shah Alam. The project was kick off by Ong Ka Chuan, Housing And Local Government Minister. Just like the Desa Mentari surau, this protest happened during the ground breaking event.
According to Star, six people who claimed to be residents from the nearby Desa Alam neighbourhood led by Ahmad Shakri Tarmuchi handed a memorandum to Ong, urging him to scrap the project citing that the neighbourhood was a Muslim-majority area and Bodhi Park should not be built in there. Ahmad Shakri told reporters the residents were not informed of the project by the City Council and there was no notice board at the site announcing the project from the time they had occupied the housing estate in December 2006. Minister Ong replied that “people there should live in harmony”.
Bodhi Park is being built by the Young Buddhist Foundation Malaysia ona 0.68ha of land and the building committee chairman Goh Seng Chai said it would serve as a leading centre for Buddhist educational outreach and cultural activities. A Bernama report mentions that the park will comprise an auditorium, a centre for Buddhist research and studies, a multipurpose hall, and a main shrine for devotees.
In the early 1990’s, the foundation bought a 0.6-hectare piece of land in Section 24 for the project but the state government found it unsuitable for religious use and offered the alternative site in November 2002, Goh added. He said the land for the project was bought from the Selangor Economic Development Corporation for RM95,844 and the sale-and-purchase agreement was signed in April 2004. Goh said the development order for the project was approved on April 24 this year and construction was scheduled to commence in September.
What is your take on this? Is it the previous government’s fault for allocating land in a Muslim majority area for a Buddhist park? Shah Alam itself is 90% Muslim populated, so not much place will be suitable. Generally, I find Buddhist programs are not noisy, so it won’t be disruptive as other religion’s function. So, should the park?
