PUTRAJAYA: Many places of worship without land titles should not be considered as illegal structures as they were built before independence and prior to the existence of land laws, says Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming.
He said many religious buildings, including mosques and temples, were constructed long before Merdeka and before the National Land Code and the Local Government Act came into force.
“Some temples are hundreds of years old. How could they have complied with the National Land Code when it did not even exist at the time.
"I clarify that no directive was issued to demolish any temple,” he said, adding that local authorities had not been instructed to tear down any house of worship.
He said as a caring and inclusive government, the Madani administration, through his ministry, is ready to coordinate and assist state governments and local councils to regularise such structures, including the process of legalisation.
He urged all parties seeking to build houses of worship including churches, mosques, temples or surau to apply for proper permits.
“We will approve them according to regulations. We have an open-door policy. There has never been an issue,” he said.
Nga said his ministry has a dedicated unit to manage non-Muslim houses of worship and assists not only with applications but also with maintenance funding.
“Every year, we allocate RM50mil to help maintain non-Muslim houses of worship nationwide. Some temples have leaking roofs or dilapidated structures, and we will assist. For mosques, RM2.6bil is allocated under Jakim. So this is not an issue,” he said.
Nga called on Malaysians to handle matters involving houses of worship with wisdom and humility.
“Unity and harmony are the twin keys to our nation’s success. We must resolve such issues peacefully and with understanding,” he said at a Fire and Rescue Department event here where he received 30 fire engines that were acquired to replace ageing fire engines across the country in a strategic collaboration with Chinese vehicle builder CLW Special Automobile (M) Sdn Bhd (CLW Malaysia).
Under the trade-in initiative, 30 aged fire engines with a market value of RM2.3mil were handed over to CLW Malaysia in exchange for 30 brand new fire engines at a cost of RM600,000 each.
Earlier, Nga said under the Fire and Rescue Department’s fire hazard elimination initiative, 21,429 inspections were carried out last year on both commercial and residential buildings.
He said the inspections were almost 19% above the set target of 18,000.
“From these inspections, 11,260 notices were issued involving 1,612 premises ordering rectification and compliance with fire safety requirements,” he said.
Nga said the government would adopt a “no compromise” approach in enforcing fire safety laws to ensure building owners adhere strictly to regulations.
He said in preparation for emergencies during the upcoming Chinese New Year, the leave of 80% of the 15,000 fire and rescue department personnel was frozen until the end of the festive season.
