Kangar temple demolished despite MB’s ‘assurance’, civil suit filed

 The Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple was demolished on Aug 20 despite the committee saying it was assured no action will be taken this year.

Screenshots of a video show the temple being demolished on Aug 20.

KANGAR:

Questions are being raised over the demolition of the Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple here on Aug 20, with the temple committee claiming it had been assured by the Perlis government that it would be given until the end of the year to resolve the matter.

The committee said it was not against relocating the temple, but wanted discussions with the state government to continue to find a suitable site before any action was taken.

Its chairman, P Sathesh Kumar, said the committee had met menteri besar Abu Bakar Hamzah several times and was assured that talks would continue.

He said Abu Bakar had also assured attendees during a town hall on July 14 that no action would be taken against the temple until Dec 31, pending ongoing efforts to find a resolution to the matter.

“We thought there would be further discussions and that we would be called for a meeting to find a solution,” he told FMT.

The committee also shared a video recording of the town hall meeting, in which Abu Bakar gave his assurance.

Despite this, on Aug 20, enforcement officers and heavy machinery arrived at the temple early in the morning and demolished the structure.

Sathesh said the committee was caught off guard as it believed discussions with the state were still ongoing.

He claimed that when the committee contacted Abu Bakar during the demolition, the menteri besar said he was unaware that enforcement action was taking place.

The committee has filed a civil suit against the Perlis government, the Kangar land office and the Kangar municipal council over the matter.

Sathesh said the suit was filed on Aug 19, a day before the demolition, but the committee had yet to obtain a court order to stop the demolition when enforcement officers arrived.

He said the temple was not an abandoned structure but had served the local Hindu community for many years, with daily prayers held there.

Sathesh said the committee had been engaging with the Perlis authorities for decades over the temple’s status and had previously received approvals to carry out repairs.

The state government had reportedly said the temple was located on government land without approval and that enforcement action was taken after years of notices and discussions with the committee.

FMT has reached out to the menteri besar and land office for comment. - FMT