State did not offer us land, says temple committee

The committee of the Hindu temple in Masai, Johor, which was demolished on Jan 11, said they were never formally offered land by the state government.

Yesterday, Johor Menteri Besar Mohamed Khaled Nordin (photo) announced that a piece of land along Jalan Persisiran, Seri Alam, had already been alienated for the temple.

He added that this land had been offered to the temple committee before, but the offer was turned down.

When contacted, Sri Siva Sakti Sri Sinna Karuppar Aalayam temple committee vice-secretary E Rajendren said the committee was unaware of such an offer.

"We did not receive any correspondence regarding the purported offer before the demolition took place," said Rajendran.

He said the committee only learned about the purported offer through a speech by a Johor MIC leader M Asojan that was posted on Facebook after the demolition.

Despite the purported offer, Rajendran said the committee was adamant that they need not move because an agreement had been sealed with the previous landowner. The present landowner had acquired the property in 1994.

Second offer

In view of this, Rajendran said the committee was of the view that they are legally entitled to the land, and stressed that the temple has existed for nearly 80 years.

The temple was demolished after the landowner, said to be a Singaporean, had obtained a court order.

At the time of writing, the state government officials have yet to respond to request for comments. 

In a statement yesterday, Khaled said the demolition was the work of the landowner after obtaining a court order, and that the state government had nothing to do with it.

"The state government had offered a piece of land as a replacement. However, the proposal was rejected by the temple management who insist on occupying the privately-owned land.

"The state government wishes to again offer the temple management a piece of land in Jalan Persisiran, Seri Alam.

"To prevent this issue from festering, we hope that our second offer will be accepted by the temple management," he had said.- Mkini