PETALING JAYA: The mufti of Perlis has urged the Pakatan Harapan government to come down hard on illegal places of worship, in what is believed to be his reaction to resistance from a group of Hindu devotees in Subang Jaya where a fracas took place early this morning over a temple slated for relocation.
“Malaysia does not practice laws of the jungle whereby anybody can erect places of worship wherever they want,” said Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin.
Asri, who has in the past publicly clashed with Hindu group Hindraf over issues of religious rights, said illegal places of worship were an inconvenience to the public, giving the example of one such structure near a hospital in Bukit Mertajam, Penang.
“The authorities do not take any action. So protective was the past government of its vote bank that it allowed too many places of worship to flout rules and to be built illegally.
“The present government has a duty to be firm and uphold the rules,” said Asri.
He also lashed out at those who demand compensation and new land to relocate such structures.
“How easy it is to get land as compensation from the government,” he said.
His comments come in the wake of violent clashes between unidentified groups at the Sri Maha Mariamman Temple in Seafield, Subang Jaya, early this morning.
The temple is located on a land owned by a developer, and was supposed to be relocated based on a consent judgment in 2014.
But a faction in the temple, in an about-turn, is fighting the judgment despite earlier agreeing to it, forcing the relocation to be postponed. - FMT
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