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RAWANG: Representatives of some 700 Hindu temples in Selangor have agreed to form a committee among themselves to deal directly with the state government on erecting, demolishing and relocating temples.
They also agreed with Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Khir Toyo's proposal to have the self-regulatory committee ready within six months. The decision was made at an hour-long dialogue session between Dr Khir and the representatives, facilitated by the newly set up Malaysian Hindu Council.
At a press conference after the meeting, Dr Khir said state exco member Kamala Ganapathy would assist the proposed committee. "The committee must come up with regulations and requirements in terms of qualifications of priests, locations of the temples and the funds needed and so on," he said. The menteri besar said a temple to be built must comply with the regulations set by the committee and, the committee, after agreeing that the temple has met the requirements, will meet the state government's committee for approval.
While waiting six months for the committee to be set up, Dr Khir said the state would avoid taking action against temples built without approval. However, relocation exercises would proceed for the temples that had agreed to be relocated. Dr Khir said action had also been taken against mosques, surau and Chinese temples that were built without permission. "The only place of worship we have not encountered any problem with is the Christian churches. They always abide by all regulations."
At yesterday's dialogue, Malay- sian Hindu Council chairman Datuk R. Nadarajah also submitted to Dr Khir a proposal for the setting up of a Malaysian Indian Cultural Centre in Batu Caves. This is following an announcement by Dr Khir that there was a RM20 million state allocation for the purpose of building a cultural centre for the Indian community.
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S'gor halts temple demolitions for six months |
| Syed Jaymal Zahiid | Jan 5, 08 12:49pm |
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The Selangor state government has announced a six-month moratorium on the demolition of Hindu temples in the state. The six-month duration is to allow the temples themselves to establish a self-regulatory committee to deal directly with the state government on erecting, demolishing and relocating temples.
The meeting was facilitated by the newly set up Malaysian Hindu Council, headed by the Jalan Bandar Maha Mariamman temple and Batu Caves temple president R Nadarajah. "The committee must come up with regulations and requirements in terms of qualifications of priests, locations of the temples and the funds needed and so on," Khir said. He also added that a newly build temple must comply with the regulations set by the committee and, the committee, after agreeing that the temple has met the requirements, will meet the state government for approval. "We don't want temples being built without approval. Suggestions from this committee will be discussed at the executive council level before approval (for building new temples) is given," he added. He said that MIC's state exco member Kamala Ganapathy would assist the proposed committee. Matter of legality However, relocation exercises would proceed for the temples that had agreed to be relocated, he added.
The dialogue session set up between Khir and the temple representatives, held at the Perangsang Templer Golf Club in the outskirts of the city, was to discuss the problems of the series of temple demolitions that have occurred in Selangor throughout last year. The Indian community have accused Khir's government of intolerable ruthlessness when it comes to dealing with the temple issue. Khir and his government however pointed out that the temple issue was just a matter of "legality", saying that the temples that have been demolished are those that were not built according to law. "We must not look at this (temple demolition) from a prejudicial and cynical perspective. It is not race or religious bias that made us act on the temples, but a legal one," stressed the chief minister in his speech earlier. 'I have always been fair' "The only religious building that the state government have not taken action against are churches. Why? Because they were built in accordance with the law set by the state and the federal government," he noted. According to the chief minister, his government has always been fair to all races in the state. To counter allegations that his administration practices religious bias, Khir said the accusers should look at the facts. "In Selangor, the state government have approved the construction of 146 Hindu temples. If I practice religious bias, why are there 146 Hindu temples in Selangor?" he said. In support of his claim, he added that his administration have allocated RM20 million for the construction of a Hindu Cultural Centre, which will be located at Batu Caves. "I want people to understand the culture of the Indian Malaysians here so that all that the racial unity that our forefathers have strived to build will be safeguarded by future generations," he said. MIC's council of temples Following the meeting the temple representatives and the state government in Selangor, another such meeting would be held in Kuala Lumpur on Jan 13 involving all temple representatives from the city. This was announced by MIC president S Samy Vellu today. He would be chairing the KL meeting. Many cases of temple demolitions are confined to Kuala Lumpur and Selangor. According to Bernama today, Samy Vellu said that without political support, the fate of temples, especially those built illegally would be in limbo.
"The MIC considers the demolition of temples as a very serious political matter and it requires consultations from various parties," he said in a statement. As such, the council would be tasked with several functions, among others, to safeguard temples and to protect the integrity of the Hindu religion; to register temples which comply with the requirements; and to obtain permanent and suitable alternative sites for temples. Samy Vellu said that if a temple was found to have been built on private or government land, the council would seek an alternative and suitable site for it. "The council will also ascertain that the plans for all the temples have been submitted to the local authorities to prevent future problems. The council will get the approval for the plans once they have been submitted," he said. However, it would not interfere in the running of the temple or its administration, he added. |
This was announced by Mentri Besar Dr Mohamad Khir Toyo after an hour long meeting with representatives of some 700 Hindu temples in the state in Rawang yesterday evening. 
"We want everybody to work together in this matter. Once this regulatory body is put into frame, it will be easier for us to move on to the next step," Khir said.
He said that in Selangor, besides Hindu temples, other religious edifices like the Muslim's surau, the Chinese' tokong have all faced state government action because they were built not in accordance to regulations.
He also said that MIC would be forming a council of Hindu temples in every state to protect the temples and resolve their problems through the state governments. |
Temple reps: Meeting a political ploy |
| Khairil Zhafri | Jan 5, 08 3:27pm |
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Representative from about 700 Hindu temples in Selangor met in a close-door dialogue with Menteri Besar Dr Mohd Khir Toyo yesterday to discuss problems faced by the temples. The meeting was facilitated by the Malaysian Hindu Council (MHC), a newly-formed umbrella body that claims to represent Hindu temples and Hindu-based organisations in Malaysia.
After the dialogue, Malaysiakini asked temple representatives for their comments on the dialogue. One temple committee member who declined to be named said the menteri besar didn't answer most of the issues raised by the Hindu temples. Instead he is claimed to have chimed in with projects the Barisan Nasional government had done for the Hindu community. "He didn't say much, but just (speaking to) gain support for BN in the election," he said. However, the representative from a temple in Klang welcomed the financial allocation for Hindu temples as promised by Khir as it was what they are duly entitled to. In his speech, Khir had asked the audience whether they agree to set up a body to self-regulate Hindu temples in Selangor. There were no response from the audience at first. Khir then reiterate his question for the second time asking "agree or not?". Only then majority of the audience said "agree" and gave an applause. Problems with the new body However, another temple representative approached by Malaysiakini at the event told that he did not understand why the state government wanted to set up a new regulatory body for Hindu temples. "In his speech, he (Khir) said the state government already have a committee to take care the Hindu matters. So why (need to set up) a new committee?" asked the temple representative from Banting.
He also said the setting up a new regulatory body will only cause more problems to Hindu temples as there would be overlapping regulations by the government and the body. Another temple representative said that he did not see any concrete outcome from the dialogue. When asked to comment on the memorandum submitted to the Selangor government, he said, "we support the memorandum but if the government is not doing anything about it, (there is) no use (to send any memorandum)," he added. Demanding government assistance At the event, a memorandum was submitted to the state government by Malaysian Hindu Council on behalf of Hindu temples in the state: In the 13-paged memorandum, MHC proposed, among others, that: – all Hindu temples to be legalised and state government draw up a guideline on legality of Hindu temples upon consultation with Hindu bodies – certain procedures should be followed in the event of demolition and removal of temples – government to give a waiver for utilities like electricity, water, sewerage, quit rent and and also assessment – Hindus should be given the liberty to build a temple to their own specifications – registration of temple committees with the Registrar of Societies should be made easier The event was held at Perangsang Templer Golf Club in Rawang. It was originally planned to be held at Batu Caves but later changed to the golf club to accommodate the big number of attendees. Objections to MHC and Nadarajah During the dialogue, Khir answered the issues raised by temples representatives for about one and a half hour. State exco A Kamala Ganapathy took over from Khir when he left the hall for a press conference with Nadarajah. The meeting between Hindu temple representatives and Selangor mentri besar had received objection by a group of Indian NGOs earlier. The NGOs questioned the credibility of MHC and Nadarajah to handle the meeting. Last year, Selangor government took action to demolish all places of worship claimed to be illegally built . The matter was at its height when a 100-year-old temple in Rimba Jaya demolished by the local authority with use of violence and force. |
The temple representative was referring to the committee for non-Muslim places of worship in the Selangor government, whose members include non-Muslim state executive councilors. 
"I am disappointed that a small portion of the interview had been blown out of proportion to mean I am giving up the struggle of Hindraf or that struggle is likely to die soon," he said.
"People power can continue with the struggle but the ultimate power lies in the government. In Malaysia, Indians are minority and the reality is we can't form a government to change the situation," he added. 
"I have many plans lined up and will reveal to the Malaysian Indians in stages and with the support of people power which we are witnessing now we will together continue to advocate and assert the rights of the minority Indian community," he said. 
He also said that he felt sad for the five Hindraf leaders who have been made scapegoats by the government. 
