JOHOR BARU: Devotees of a Hindu temple here are distressed over what they claimed was an abrupt demolition of their house of worship despite having been granted previous extensions to remain at the site.
“We were caught off guard. There was no notification about it,” said Malai Aalum Murugan Temple secretary M. Manimaran (pic).
He said the temple in Kangkar Pulai was torn down by the Kulai Municipal Council on a public holiday on Dec 15 without any prior notice.
“In fact, we only came to know about it when someone who went hiking near the temple took photos and videos, which eventually reached us.
“What is even more devastating was the removal of deities, which are sacred to us, without the proper and respectful procedures,” he said near the site of the temple yesterday.
Manimaran claimed that the demolition took place while the temple was in the midst of negotiations with the local council.
“We have been in discussions with the local council about the matter since January after receiving a notice to vacate the site.
“We were granted several extensions over the past few months. Based on our last discussion, we had until Oct 31 to remain here.
“On Oct 9, we submitted another appeal for an extension but did not receive any reply until now,” he said.
He said the temple, which is estimated to have been built in 1980, receives almost 2,000 visitors every month.
The temple committee, he said, will be submitting a memorandum signed by over 1,000 people to the Mentri Besar’s Office today.
An official from the municipal council, when contacted, said that a response would be issued later.
Meanwhile, Johor unity, heritage and culture committee chairman K. Raven Kumar urged all relevant agencies, particularly local authorities, not to resort to hasty actions such as those seen in this case.
“I express my deep disappointment, regret and dissatisfaction over the action taken by municipal council in demolishing the Malai Aalum Murugan Temple.
“The action was carried out on a state public holiday, without any prior notification to me as the state executive councillor directly responsible for matters concerning non-Islamic places of worship in Johor,” he said in a statement.
Temple committee member and social activist Arun Dorasamy of the Agamam Ani Malaysia association has held a briefing with the devotees, explaining to them about the timeline of events and the memorandum submission.
