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Malaysia plans to resolve temple issue

SINGAPORE: Malaysia on Monday announced plans for “a new approach” to resolve the “sensitive matter” of preserving temples, an issue raised by the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) in its campaign for a fair deal for ethnic Indians.

Malaysia’s Works Minister and president of the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC), Samy Vellu, said, in a statement in Kuala Lumpur, that he “will scrutinise all matters pertaining to temples, with a view to ensuring that none is demolished in the future.”

Noting that Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had now mandated the MIC to monitor temples across the country, Mr. Samy Vellu said: “If they have to be demolished, suitable alternative sites must be found [for their re-location] so that Hindus can continue to worship.”

The MIC is a constituent of the multiracial coalition government headed by the United Malays National Organisation. People of Indian origin, at about two million, account for nearly eight per cent of Malaysia’s population that consists of a Malay-Muslim majority and a large section of ethnic Chinese as well.

Mr. Samy Vellu said the MIC had now been asked to report to the Cabinet periodically about the status of temples across Malaysia. Such reporting would also cover the inter-related issues of the need to demolish any temple for whatever valid reasons and the need for suitable re-location as the case might be.

He pledged to travel all over Malaysia to prepare a comprehensive list of temples and identify the problems facing them. He was quoted by Malaysia’s national news agency as saying that no temple, built legally or illegally, should be demolished without prior discussion with the MIC.

Meanwhile, Hindraf coordinator Thanenthiran told The Hindu over telephone from Penang that the ethnic Indian group would convey its Christmas greetings to fellow Malaysians.

Noting that Hindraf supporters continued their prayer campaign for the release of the group’s leaders, Mr. Thanenthiran expressed concern that temple administrations were coming under “pressure” from the authorities in this regard.

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