Unlawful to label temples as “illegal,” said Arun Dorasamy

 

UNDOUBTEDLY, the case involving the 130-year-old Dewi Sri Pathrakaliamman Temple has since brought to the public’s attention the many other Hindu houses of worship across Malaysia.

Alongside this comes the hurtful “kuil haram” and “illegal temple” label towards the temples which were purportedly built on some other people’s property.

In this regard, an activist by the name of Arun Dorasamy has risen to tackle this sticky issue, stating that these labels are unlawful and liable for action. 

On a post on Facebook, he stated among other things that a Hindu temple does not become “illegal” just because of an association registration issue or land statue issue. 

Issues such as land ownership, lack of planning approval, and temporary occupation do not automatically make a temple illegal or unethical.

“There is no legal provision that recognises the term illegal temple,” he pointed out.

Sadly, however, his post did not receive the impact he desired since it has turned into a hotbed for condemnation. “Won’t your god get angry that you pray on a stolen land,” wondered Gula Melaka.

Another netizen angrily added that on top of being illegal, these people even ask for compensation too.  Netizen Syed Azlin sarcastically added a list of features for his so-called halal temple:

The picture comment by a fellow netizen was equally interesting:

Note that in the past, the Royal Malaysian Police opened an investigation paper against Arun Dorasamy who allegedly issued seditious statements through a video uploaded to his Instagram, with regards to freelance Zamri Vinoth.

In a nine-minute video on Instagram, Arun allegedly said Zamri Vinoth was an apostate Hindu, as well as questioning whether the police were waiting for racial riots. — Focus Malaysia