Temple demolition: MB urged to suspend land officer

SERI KEMBANGAN: Vexed committee members of a temple which was demolished in Bukit Serdang want Selangor Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim to suspend the officer responsible from the Petaling district land office.

Failing which, they warned that a protest would be mounted in front of the Serdang DAP office.

The committee members made the demand after a meeting with DAP's Serdang MP Teo Nie Ching last night.

Committee spokesman P Prem Kumar said they were disappointed with the decision to demolish the temple.

"Until now, none of the parties including DAP had provided an explanation over this,” he said, adding that they had a photograph of the officer in question.

Prem said this was the third temple demolition to have happened in the state since Pakatan Rakyat took over in March 2008.

He said the incident recurred because the state goverenment had failed to take stern action

"This time we want the MB to punish the officer. It will be a lesson to other departments not to go against the state government's directives,” he added.

If the state government and DAP failed to respond, Prem said, it would clearly show that the state government was behind the demolition of the Sri Maha Perchai Vada Bathra Kaliamman Alayam temple.

Meanwhile, committee chairman B Gopalan said Teo had promised to secure a new plot of land to rebuild the temple as soon as possible.

He added that the committee still had faith in DAP and the Serdang MP.

This temple was built in Section 6 some 10 years ago. It was moved to a temporary site in Section 5 under the direction of DAP as the original land was sold to a developer.

Despite numerous attemps, the MB's officials could not be reached for comment.

courtesy of FMT