With immediate effect, no new construction or extensions of non-Islamic places of worship in the federal territories will be permitted on government land without prior approval, and any breaches will be subject to enforcement action by local authorities.
The directive, announced by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Federal Territories) Hannah Yeoh, marks a significant shift towards tighter oversight of religious structures in the federal territories.
While the move is aimed at preventing further encroachment, Yeoh said that enforcement will be carried out with care, taking into account the sensitivities of local communities in Malaysia’s diverse society.
The decision follows a high-level meeting of the Non-Islamic Places of Worship Committee, where authorities reviewed longstanding concerns about unauthorised structures on government land.
“To support these efforts, the Federal Territories Department has developed a mapping of unauthorised non-Islamic houses of worship by parliamentary constituencies. To date, 163 non-Islamic houses of worship have been identified on government land,” Yeoh said.
The meeting also agreed to establish 11 sub-committees chaired by parliamentarians in their respective areas, to lead discussions with relevant parties, including the Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism, and Taoism (MCCBCHST).
“At the same time, the Housing and Local Government Ministry is refining guidelines on the management of non-Islamic places of worship to help ensure a more aligned and orderly approach nationwide,” Yeoh said in a statement posted on her Facebook page.
Similar move in Selangor
Separately, Selangor Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari said that the state established district safety committees (JKDs) to address land encroachment issues, including houses of worship built illegally on private land, to resolve such matters without conflict.
“When there is illegal activity on private land, it must be managed by the owner, but when there is sensitive activity, it must be managed well without argument.
“When this encroachment issue comes up, we will activate JKDs, chaired by district officers, so the encroaching party may remove (sacred deities/idols) and landowners may clean up the land.
“We don’t want landowners to have to go to court and bear legal fees. For now, other than activating JKDs, we are also listening to views from Muslim lawyers to return encroached-upon land (to their rightful owners),” Media Selangor reported him saying.
Amirudin was reportedly responding to a query by Sungai Burong assemblyperson Zamri Zainuldin, who asked why the JKDs were being activated during a question-and-answer session at the Selangor state assembly sitting today.
He also said that, aside from land encroachment involving illegally built houses of worship, the Special Committee of Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Sikh, and Tao Religions in Selangor (Limas) is identifying shrines that could disrupt public order.
The report said that in February, the Selangor government rolled out JKDs across all districts after a state security council meeting chaired by Amirudin, as part of efforts to tackle land encroachment more systematically.
Under the measures agreed, affected landowners are required to file police reports to enable investigations and possible legal action.
They must also issue formal notices to those occupying the land and inform the relevant district offices, allowing the JKDs to take further action.
Media Selangor also reported Limas co-chairperson Papparaidu Veraman, saying that the Selangor government will focus on dialogue and consultation as the first step in addressing issues surrounding unregistered non-Muslim places of worship, while strengthening guidelines and taking enforcement action where required.
He reportedly conceded that certain matters might have been dealt with sooner, but emphasised that the state is now taking a more measured and balanced approach going forward. - Mkini
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.