'Land activist' says will surrender to police, but on one condition

 

Self-proclaimed activist Tamim Dahri Abdul Razak, who is being sought by authorities over the desecration of a sacred Hindu symbol, has agreed to surrender but on one condition.

In a posting on the “Tanah Malaya” social media account, Tamim said he would return to the country and turn himself in to police if authorities demolish a list of allegedly "illegal" Hindu temples.

"We, the strategists of Tanah Malaya, come from technical backgrounds instead of arts, and thus we are familiar with only one thing: problem solving.

"But today, we will try to act like artists. @tamimdahri is ready to return to Malaysia and surrender himself to police in the near future.

"With one condition: that these illegal temples are demolished," said the posting on Tanah Malaya's Threads account.

Tanah Malaya is an activism group founded by Tamim that actively collects and shares information about temples allegedly built without permission in Malaysia.

Dewi Sri Pathrakaliamman Temple

He listed four temples: one at Jalan Pandanmas (in Kuala Lumpur), the temple at Bukit Mertajam Hospital in Penang, the Seafield old temple, and the "Jakel" temple.

The old Seafield temple is believed to be the Sri Maha Mariamman temple in USJ 25, Subang Jaya, which saw a riot that killed firefighter Adib Kassim in 2018; while the Jakel temple refers to the Dewi Sri Pathrakaliamman along Jalan Munshi Abdullah in Kuala Lumpur which was central to a controversial land dispute between Jakel Trading and the temple committee.

Offer to surrender

In a reply to the posting, Tamim confirmed that he made the "offer" to surrender.

When asked if he would only return after the temples are demolished or upon authorities' promise to do so, Tamim said "either would do".

Tamim was supposed to be charged in Langkawi on Tuesday for desecrating a sacred Hindu symbol, but prosecutors sought a postponement to allow them to bring him to court.

The court was informed that Tamim is in Riyadh. However, Tamim’s own social media posts indicated he was in Medina. - Mkini