PUTRAJAYA: The clearing of any illegal houses of worship located on private or state land must involve local authorities and cannot be carried out unilaterally by private citizens, said government spokesman Datuk Fahmi Fadzil.
Fahmi said the recent Selangor National Security Council (NSC) statement on measures to take in cases of encroachment and the construction of places of worship without approval was raised during the weekly Cabinet meeting yesterday.
“If it involves private or state land, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim stressed that the process of taking action should not be done alone by individuals, but together with local authorities.
“Therefore, the Cabinet welcomed the Selangor Mentri Besar’s statement regarding the coordination process, especially at the local authority level to manage this issue better,” said Fahmi during his weekly press conference.
Meanwhile, Fahmi said the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) is investigating Coordinated Inauthentic Behaviour (CIB) that is attempting to fan racial flames over the matter.
CIB refers to networks of social media accounts – often fake or deceptive – working together to mislead users and manipulate public discourse.
As of 10am yesterday, Fahmi said the MCMC had identified more than 40 Facebook and 10 TikTok accounts involved in sharing a fake news article on Facebook.
“Any attempts to incite racial sentiments will not be tolerated and the authorities will take action.”
Fahmi also said the MCMC had identified 19 fake accounts believed to be part of a CIB network posting comments during live Parliamentary proceedings.
“Two of the accounts were fake, and investigations are ongoing into the remaining 17,” added Fahmi.
On Thursday, police arrested four men over the alleged trespass and demolition of an illegal temple in Rawang, Selangor, following a complaint from a local resident.
Police said parts of the temple were demolished without prior notice or discussion with local authorities.
In a statement on Thursday, Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari said the police are currently probing the Rawang incident.
Amirudin said landowners facing encroachment should lodge a police report, which could lead to prosecution if the offence can be proved.
Notices will then be issued to the encroachers and the case will be formally notified to the District and Land Office.
The District Security Committee, chaired by the district officer, will act as a mediator by calling all stakeholders including the landowner, the management of the place of worship, the police and local authorities to seek a reasonable solution.
If no consensus is reached, the District Security Committee will advise the landowner to take legal action.
“This approach is adopted so that the entire process involves local authorities, thereby preventing any incidents that could trigger a riot,” added Amirudin in the statement.
