Group didn’t have mandate to attend meet, says Hindu Sangam

 MHS says the meeting's outcome is ‘fundamentally unrepresentative’ since most Hindu NGOs and temple steering committee were left out.

Earlier today, representatives of Mahima held a dialogue with the Malaysian Muslim Lawyers’ Association, joined by community and religious leaders from both faiths.

PETALING JAYA:

 Malaysia Hindu Sangam (MHS) has denied giving the Malaysian Council of Hindu Temples and Hindu Associations (Mahima) the mandate to attend a meeting with representatives of Muslim groups and leaders earlier today.

MHS said it represented more than 1,800 temples and 200 Hindu organisations while the national Hindu temples steering committee was the sole body addressing temple issues at the national level.

“The absence of the overwhelming majority of Hindu NGOs, temple committees and national-level leadership, including MHS and the steering committee, renders any outcome from the meeting fundamentally unrepresentative,” it said in a statement.

MHS maintained that it was prepared to hold meaningful engagements to settle issues pertaining to places of worship built without approval but said this must be done through inclusive and structured platforms.

It added that the issues at hand must be tackled through a structured national framework to ensure peaceful resolutions, curb tensions and ensure stability.

Earlier today, representatives of Mahima held a dialogue with the Malaysian Muslim Lawyers’ Association, joined by community and religious leaders of both faiths.

The event was seen as a step towards cooling tensions that had sparked a heated debate across social media in recent weeks. - FMT