SEREMBAN: Local councils in the state have been told to monitor the construction of new non-Muslim places of worship and to halt projects that had not obtained approvals.
State local government, housing and transport committee chairman J. Arul Kumar said this was to prevent unnecessary problems in the future.
He said if the construction of places of worship being built illegally was not addressed now, it could become a sensitive issue later on.
“If we do not take any action from now, we will still be facing this issue over the next 20 to 30 years.
“So, the first thing we need to do is to immediately stop the construction of such structures without approval or those that are being built on land not belonging to them,” he told reporters yesterday.
Citing an example, Arul Kumar said he had previously directed a local council to demolish a temple which was being built illegally along a slope in Senawang Perdana.
“We took action before construction was completed. Then, it does not become an issue,” he said, adding that there were no issues with the construction of Muslim places of worship as the matter is under the jurisdiction of the state Islamic Affairs Department.
He said most issues of temples said to be built illegally involved older structures, including those built in estates decades ago.
“These former estates were later developed and the temples were not moved to another location, leading to them being labelled as illegal structures.”
Arul Kumar also said the state government had come up with a policy in 2019 that approvals for the planning of new developments would only be given after issues related to places of worship located there were resolved.
Citing another example, he said before the approvals for the MVV City project was given, the developer had agreed to provide land for three Hindu temples which had been built in the area long ago.
“The temple committees were also happy with the arrangement and agreed to relocate,” he said.
Arul Kumar said the state government was committed to resolving such issues harmoniously.
“Many Hindus are also unhappy with temples being built illegally as we need to safeguard and preserve the sanctity of our places of worship,” he added.
