PETALING JAYA: A coalition representing Malaysia’s major non-Muslim faith groups has objected to provisions in Selangor’s 2025 planning guidelines for non-Muslim houses of worship.
They described some of the requirements as impractical and overly restrictive.
The Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism (MCCBCHST) said it opposed a requirement that a housing development must have a population catchment of 5,000 residents, or 1,250 housing units, before land can be allocated for a non-Muslim house of worship.
“For followers of a religion, for example, the Sikh community, if there are only about 20 families, or about 100 people, in a housing development area, they will not meet the criteria, but for the Sikh community, a house of worship is very much needed as they are required to pray at least in the morning and evening, usually in a gurdwara,” the council said in a statement on Wednesday (June 10).
The council said the threshold was unsuitable as communities living in smaller developments would still require places of worship.
It proposed lowering the requirement to 1,500 residents, or 375 housing units, while retaining the minimum 1.5-acre land allocation.
The council also objected to restrictions on locating non-Muslim houses of worship in commercial zones, converting existing buildings into places of worship, and using residential properties for religious activities.
It said such applications should be assessed on a case-by-case basis.
According to the council, commercial and industrial lots should remain available, as dedicated land for houses of worship is limited.
The council also raised concerns over limiting the height of non-Muslim houses of worship to 72ft or the height of a mosque in the same or nearby area.
It said the requirement should be reviewed.
The council said that linking the height of non-Muslim houses of worship to nearby mosques could raise questions over constitutional guarantees on equality and freedom of religion.
The council also said it was not consulted during the drafting of the Selangor 2025 Planning Guidelines and Standards for Community Facilities.
“The Selangor 2025 Planning Guidelines and Standards for Community Facilities follow the 2022 Planning Guidelines for Houses of Worship of Other Religions, and this was approved by the Selangor state executive council at its meeting No. 34/2025 dated Nov 12, 2025,” it said.
The council said it was only invited to a meeting at the Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah Building in Shah Alam on May 29 this year, after the matter received media attention, and was subsequently given two weeks to submit its feedback.
The statement was signed by the council’s president, Seck Chaio Ying; deputy president, Dr T. Jeyakumar; and vice-presidents, Dao Zhang Tan Hoe Chieow, Sardar Jagir Singh and Datuk Mohan Shan.
