Charge Sepang protesters, says Hindraf

It takes offence at a call for the destruction of Hindu temples.

KUALA LUMPUR: Hindraf today urged the authorities to punish the participants of last Tuesday’s demonstration against the rebuilding of a Hindu shrine in Sepang.

In a report lodged at the Travers police station, Hindraf youth chief S Thiagarajan said the demonstrators had incited racial and religious hatred.

Thiagarajan referred to a placard displayed at the protest, which read “Robohkan Kuil Haram” (Demolish Illegal Temples), saying it represented a “blatant act” of bullying against a “vulnerable minority”.

Tuesday’s demonstration was carried out by a group calling itself Taman Seroja Residents Association. It was in reaction to a proposal to rebuild a Hindu altar that the Sepang municipal council had demolished. The altar was located on the porch of a private home.

Referring to the offending placard, Thiagarajan said: “There are no such things as illegal Hindu temples or licences for the same as there are no such things as illegal mosques or suraus, churches, Chinese temples, gurudwaras, etc, or licences for the same.

“All these places of worship exist and co-exist by virtue of Article 11 of the Federal Constitution, which guarantees freedom of religion.”

The report also called for the prosecution of the municipal officers who demolished the altar.

It also urged the government to “seriously promote” racial and religious co-existence as opposed to mere tolerance.

Speaking to FMT, Thiagarajan proposed that state governments earmark a site for a Hindu temple for every 1,000 Hindus.

He questioned the authorities’ failure to act against Tuesday’s demonstrators, contrasting this with the swift action taken against Seputeh MP Teresa Kok a couple years ago over her call for mosque loudspeakers to be lowered in volume at dawn.