KL Hindu temple matter a legal issue, says filmmaker

 

The 130-year-old Dewi Sri Pathrakaliamman temple, located off Jalan Masjid India in Kuala Lumpur is at the centre of a controversy.

PETALING JAYA: 

A filmmaker has called for the issue over the relocation of a Hindu temple in the heart of Kuala Lumpur to be settled in court.

Jules Rahman Ong said that many people have played up the sentiment that the government intends to demolish the Dewi Sri Pathrakaliamman temple in Kuala Lumpur and build a mosque in its place.

“That is not right. The land now belongs to a private entity and by law, private property according to the Torrens system which we practise, gives sole ownership (and rights) to the owner.

“This is backed by state (laws) and by the National Land Code,” he said in a Facebook post.

He added that if it was true that the temple received Kuala Lumpur City Hall’s (DBKL) permission to be relocated to the current site in 2008, then this issue should be one of rule of law and the failure of DBKL in managing its own land.

“Let it be fought out in court as an issue of law instead of making it an example of a racial and religious conflict,” said Ong, who describes himself as director, producer, and independent journalist.

Yesterday, Batu MP P Prabakaran claimed that the 130-year-old Hindu temple at the centre of the controversy was relocated to its current site in 2008 at the request of the government through DBKL.

He said there had been false claims made about the temple, among which was that it was built by devotees at the current site off Jalan Masjid India even though the land did not belong to them.

Prabakaran also said that the temple had applied in 2012 to convert the title to that of land reserved for a non-Muslim house of worship, but the application was rejected.

At a press conference on the temple grounds today, M Saravanan, who was the deputy federal territories minister from 2008 to 2013, denied that the temple had moved to its current location in 2008.

The MIC deputy president pointed out that the shift only involved the temple workers’ quarters, which had to make way for a road expansion project in 2008 after a request by DBKL in 2006.

He also denied allegations that the temple was built illegally. He said there is clear evidence that the structure had always been recognised by DBKL. - FMT