Selangor defends guidelines for new houses of worship

 A spokesman from the menteri besar's office says the guidelines are meant to improve planning and reduce congestion.

The Selangor government said the new guidelines on houses of worship will not affect existing centres.

PETALING JAYA:

The Selangor government has defended new planning guidelines that bar non-Islamic houses of worship from being built in commercial areas.

A spokesman from the menteri besar’s office said the guidelines were based on feedback received by local councils from residents living near commercial areas.

The new rules are to allow for better movement of traffic and parking facilities, as commercial areas have limited space and may not be able to cater to the needs of religious communities, the spokesman told FMT.

The spokesman also said the rules apply only to new developments and will not affect houses of worship already operating in commercial or other premises.

“Moving forward, each new area, which is developed for residential purposes, will have a gazetted land for both Muslim and non-Muslim houses of worship.”

The clarification comes after Petaling Jaya MP Lee Chean Chung raised concerns over the recently published Selangor State Planning Guidelines and Standards for Community Facilities, which were approved at a state exco meeting on Nov 12 last year.

The guidelines are administered by PLANMalaysia Selangor, the state’s town and country planning department.

Paragraphs 6 and 7 of the section governing non-Islamic places of worship state that such facilities may not be placed in commercial zones and that existing buildings cannot be converted.

Lee said the restrictions could affect many religious groups in Selangor as many currently use commercial or industrial buildings due to a lack of approved land.

“Rather than intensifying efforts to address the long-standing shortage of land for non-Islamic houses of worship, why introduce restrictions on arrangements that have largely not posed problems?” he said in a Facebook post. - FMT