Respect rule of law in relocation of Seafield temple, urges developer

The Sri Maha Mariamman temple in Seafield, Subang Jaya.

PETALING JAYA: The owner of the land which houses the Sri Maha Mariamman temple in Seafield, Subang Jaya, has called for the rule of law to be upheld amid continued opposition against the temple’s scheduled relocation.

In a statement, One City Development Sdn Bhd said it regretted the turn of events surrounding the “considered and carefully planned” relocation of the temple in USJ 25 despite the clear facts of the case.

The relocation of the temple was part of a win-win court solution in 2014 involving One City, the Selangor government and two claimants to the temple management – K Chellappa and M Nagaraju.

Both Chellappa and Nagaraju, who were involved in a separate suit over the control of the temple management, agreed to hand back the land to One City after it consented to donate RM1.5 million for the construction of a new temple on one of two plots of land given by the company.

Chellappa has since been named as the rightful temple manager, but Nagaraju refuses to abide by the consent judgment to relocate.

After the temple gave up the rights to one of the two plots of land, One City gave it another RM1 million in compensation.

“What is important to note is that the parties who are now protesting in disagreement with the lawful temple management had in 2014 applied to be bound by the terms of the consent judgment and are now, in doing an about-turn, contradicting what they themselves agreed to,” the company said.

“One City’s conscience is clear. We have done everything possible to mitigate any disruption to devotees’ worship at the temple, and have provided and paid for an alternate site for the relocation of the temple.”

It said there was no reason why the relocation of the temple could not be carried out in a peaceful and organised manner.

It added that opposing the relocation by force would be an act of contempt for the rule of law and the country’s courts.

“It would be most disheartening if, amid the newfound sense of freedom and transparency ushered in by the recent general election, the rule of law is subverted to the back seat, behind misguided sentiment.

“To those who seek to unnecessarily nationalise and aggravate this issue, we say this: while you ask for others to respect the law and to be fair, you should also do the same, even if doing so is not what you would prefer.”

If the interest of the temple devotees was really the priority of those who opposed the relocation, it added, they should take into account the wishes, safety and security of all devotees, not just those who are aligned with them.

“We urge that the orders of our courts be properly respected and that the relocation of the temple be carried out without incident.” -FMT