Golden Triangle temple mulls legal action against DBKL

The Golden Triangle Muneswarar Kuil committee is considering legal action against Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL), after it removed statues of deities and seized land on one side of the property yesterday.

M Manogaran (left), who is the committee's legal adviser, said the site belongs to the state and not to a developer who is constructing an adjacent project.

Scuffles broke out as DBKL moved in to remove the statues and wall on one side of the temple in Jalan P Ramlee in Kuala Lumpur.

Ten people, including PKR activist S Jayathas and MIC Federal Territories Youth chief D Tharmakumaran, were arrested by the police when they intervened, but were later released.

Manogaran told Malaysiakini today that the committee was refusing to concede the status of the land.

"The removal (of land) was illegal. They (DBKL) were not acting on a court order or a legal notice. Why was DBKL assisting the developer in taking land illegally?" he asked.

No notice given
The scuffles broke out after contractors from DBKL hacked off deities which were cemented on an alter located within the area to be cleared.

Two representatives from the temple were among those arrested in the five-hour long stand-off in which activists trying to stop the work were roughly handled by the police.

Manogaran said that the temple committee had not received any prior notice that the work was to take place.

Federal Territories Minister Tengku Adnan Mansor's aide R Ramanan met with representatives from MIC and PPP during the stand-off and said that work would continue despite the protest.

He said the government was giving the land to Hap Seng Consolidated Bhd who are planning to build a 30-storey office building next to the temple.

Yesterday, Dang Wangi police chief ACP Zainuddin Ahmad reportedly said that DBKL personnel were only removing the deities so they could repair the pavement and that the statues would be returned once the pavement was repaired.

Zainnuddin said the issue was a merely a misunderstanding between MIC Youth and DBKL.

However, the 10 arrests took place after Ramanan had explained to MIC and PPP that the temple was not being demolished and had left.

Lawyer Michelle Yesudas told Malaysiakini that those arrested were investigated under Section 186 of the Penal Code for obstructing public servants in discharging their duties.