Batu MP P Prabakaran said there had been false claims made about the temple, among which was that the Dewi Sri Pathrakaliamman temple was built by devotees at the current site off Jalan Masjid India even though the land did not belong to them.
“As the Kuala Lumpur MP directly involved in this issue since the start of last year, I want to explain that the temple was moved to the site in 2008 by Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL),” he said in a statement.
“The relocation of the temple was done at the request of the then government, because of development projects planned by DBKL (at the temple’s previous site).”
The government at the time was formed by Barisan Nasional.
“The temple moved to its current location, at Lot 328, Section 40, Jalan Bunus Enam off Jalan Masjid India, after obtaining all the necessary approvals from DBKL,” said Prabakaran.
He said the temple had applied in 2012 to convert the title to that of land reserved for a non-Muslim house of worship, but this application failed.
“DBKL later sold Lot 328 to developers in 2014,” said Prabakaran, who has represented Batu since 2018.
He urged all parties to give the government room to hold talks with the temple committee and landowner to resolve the matter amicably.
On Thursday, textile retailer Jakel Trading Sdn Bhd said the company had acquired the land in 2012 and received permission in 2021 to begin constructing a mosque there, but had delayed the process.
Jakel Trading’s legal head Aiman Dazuki said that while DBKL had previously proposed several sites for the temple’s relocation, its committee had not agreed to them.
Aiman said it was not possible to build the mosque without relocating the temple as the plot of land (around 12,000 sq ft) was not large enough. He said the firm had agreed to pay for the cost of the temple’s relocation.
DBKL said a new site for the temple had been identified and promised that it would not demolish the temple until it is relocated. - FMT
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