The KL Hindu temple relocation controversy explained

 

The 130-year-old Dewi Sri Pathrakaliamman temple off Jalan Masjid India in Kuala Lumpur has been at the centre of a controversy for the past week.

PETALING JAYA: 

The proposed relocation of the 130-year-old Dewi Sri Pathrakaliamman temple off Jalan Masjid India in Kuala Lumpur, to make way for the construction of a mosque, has sparked controversy in the past week.

FMT presents the key disputes, conflicting claims, and the facts that have been established so far surrounding the issue.

About the temple

Located in the heart of Kuala Lumpur, the Dewi Sri Pathrakaliamman temple is a modest Hindu temple on Jalan Bunus Enam, across the road from Jakel Mall. It is in an area often frequented by the Indian community for its textile shops and by Muslims for the nearby Masjid India mosque.

It currently sits on a 12,000 sq ft (1,100 sq m) plot, approximately the size of four tennis courts, owned by textile supplier Jakel Trading Sdn Bhd. The temple occupies about one-third of the land, the rest of which functions as a car park.

The temple occupies about a third of a 12,000 sq ft plot of land on Jalan Bunus Enam, the rest of which serves as a car park.

The current temple structure is believed to have been built in 1983. There were claims that it had been relocated in 2008 from an original site, but former Malaysia Hindu Sangam president A Vaithilingam said the temple merely shifted about two to three feet (about a metre) to accommodate a road widening project.

MIC deputy president M Saravanan said the shift involved only the quarters for the temple workers, and was done at the request of Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) in 2006.

Jakel acquires land

The temple committee applied in 2012 to convert the land title to that of land reserved for a non-Muslim house of worship, but this application failed, according to the MP for Batu, P Prabakaran.

That same year, the land was acquired from DBKL by Jakel Trading, part of the diversified family-owned Jakel Group.

Its chief financial officer, Syed Nasrul Fahmi Syed Al-Qadri, said the company was informed by DBKL in 2012, when the firm purchased the land, that the temple was only there temporarily.

He told a press conference last Thursday that this was stated in the land sale agreement. Jakel would not have gone ahead with acquiring the land if that was not the case, he said.

For more than a decade, Jakel has been in talks with the temple committee to relocate the place of worship, but the textile company maintains that their relationship has been good.

In 2021, the company received permission to begin constructing a mosque at the site, but delayed the process “out of respect” for the process of relocating the temple. Jakel also said it was willing to pay for the relocation costs.

A recent new report quoted a Jakel source as saying the proposed mosque was expected to be named “Masjid Madani”.

The company also said it was not possible to build the mosque next to the temple as the land was not big enough to accommodate two houses of worship.

At the time of writing, Jakel has yet to publish its blueprint for the new mosque or specify its size.

An illegal structure?

On March 21, Umno Youth chief Dr Akmal Saleh claimed that the temple had encroached on privately owned land, and questioned its authority to reject the relocation plan.

In the midst of the controversy, a Muslim preacher’s videos have been circulated claiming that the temple was built without consent on land reserved for a mosque. There were also claims that the temple was only built in 2008.

Saravanan contended that DBKL’s past approval of the temple’s renovation was proof that it was lawfully built, saying the local government could have demolished it in 2008 if it was illegal.

He also said the land’s status was categorised as “mixed development” when it was under DBKL.

The way forward?

There have been calls for the temple to be allowed to co-exist alongside the proposed mosque; among the proponents are the temple committee, Urimai chairman P Ramasamy, and human rights group Lawyers for Liberty.

While Jakel has said that the current plot of land is too small, the company is reportedly looking at the possibility of purchasing an adjacent plot to build the mosque, as part of an amicable solution.

However, this hinges on negotiations for the acquisition of the land, which will not come cheap given its prime location in the heart of Kuala Lumpur.

In the meantime, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and other government leaders have called for calm, with the former saying that the federal government has no role in deciding on the mosque’s construction.

Anwar also said that the mosque would be built as planned. The prime minister is set to officiate at its groundbreaking ceremony on March 27.

Amid heightened public scrutiny and strong resistance to the temple’s relocation, it remains to be seen whether an amicable solution will be found. - FMT