Yoursay: Seafield temple violence in whose name?

YOURSAY | 'This is not about God or religion, but money and power.'

S'gor police chief: Heated exchange ignited temple riot, other races involved

Robbed: The land and money have been given. The developer donated RM1.5 million to the Seafield Sri Maha Mariamman Temple in USJ 25, Subang Jaya, as part of the settlement agreement, and it was agreed that the temple would be relocated just 3km away.

I believe there are certain quarters with vested interests taking this opportunity to instigate various camps and create unrest. Authorities must come down hard on the troublemakers. And we need someone to tell the truth about what happened before emotions are raised even higher.

Oriole: Interesting choice of words from Selangor police chief Mazlan Mansor – it was devotees versus a group of 50 comprised of other races in the temple compound.

Who were these “other races” and what was their interest in the temple issue? Why were they at a Hindu temple at 2.30am in the morning?

Malaysian Spring: I hear that some politicians want to leverage on this incident, with people being hurt and 18 vehicles being torched, to blame the other side. It may very well be the case, but we do not have all the facts at present.

Politicians are cautioned not to sell half-truths and cover their party line, or their behind-the-scenes benefactors. The people are not that dumb anymore.

VP Biden: This has nothing to do with relocation. This is a provocation by unseen hands.

Falcon: This is turning out to have a plot as mysterious as the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Were there 'outsiders' in the perimeter aiding and abetting the violence? If indeed preliminary investigations show that these 'outsiders' were neither devotees nor individuals of the faith, why then were they there and under whose agenda?

We expect leadership and objectivity from all quarters, and in the meantime, cool heads and civility to prevail.

Please, no shenanigans, no matter how high in the political, business or corporate food chain to prevent any escalation – not at a time when rabid political groups and 'closet terrorists' are allegedly cohabiting to destabilise the nation.

Anonymous 2465861491622056: The police should arrest everyone involved in the fight and charge them in court. This case shows that slow action by the police can easily escalate to a major crisis.

The police should take this as a lesson for the upcoming Umno-PAS demonstration against the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Icerd).

Violence as devotees scuffle over relocation of Seafield temple

Stupid Is As Stupid Does: The rule of law should apply in this case, without exception.

ABC123: The relocation of a place of worship is no excuse to riot, destroy property like wild animals, and disobey the court order. All troublemakers, regardless of race, should be punished if they were found to have broken the law.

Nona: Agreed, laws have to be followed by everyone. However, this is a sensitive matter to a particular community – and will be the same for any community facing a similar situation.

So much can be written about this issue, and just about everyone involved from the beginning until now in this land matter can share some of the blame. It is so easy to say we should rebuild at a nearby place. But all we want is equitable justice, some respect and fairness for the community who have been praying at this temple for years.

Is money everything in life? Why can't the developer at least consider what the developer at Mid Valley Megamall did, and build around the existing temple? It appears that mankind is like a lost animal now, we can't even respect and tolerate each other’s needs.

I agree that laws are necessary for building places of worship. But this temple was built even before Merdeka. Why shouldn't the current authorities look at the needs of communities and act wisely?

I also agree that some temples are big businesses, but not in this case. As a worshipper here, I know that this temple is run by ordinary people without eyeing monetary gain.

And there is more to the so-called agreement to relocate than what you may have read. From my understanding, the people or groups who agreed to relocate do not have the consent of the majority of worshippers.

As most of us probably know, many Hindu temples have committees that think they own the temple, and hence make decisions as they please. Most Hindus in Subang Jaya certainly do not agree to this relocation, I being one. We do not have enough temples in the town for Hindus. Why not just let this temple be?

The root cause of this issue goes back to when the estate was taken over for development. The estate owner, developer and state government should have given some regard to a temple more than 100 years old.

But who cares? Nobody, just like nobody cared about Indian Malaysians who were moved out of so many estates all over the country without compensation or alternative housing. This is also the main reason why a disproportionate amount of prison inmates are Indians – too few or nobody cared for the displaced. And when some leaders speak for us, they are branded as racist.

ABC123: Just because a temple was built before independence does not mean it is exempt from the law. Land laws exist to regulate land ownership. If anyone can build anywhere there will be chaos.

The new temple site is only a few kilometres away, devotees can still pray there. Their rights to worship are not infringed. The bottom line is, laws exist and must be followed and enforced equally.

For the law to be suspended in this case, or special treatment given because the temple is old and the people there are nice, is absurd. This should not be made about race or religion. It is a legal issue – the parties have agreed, the court has made its ruling.

Anon1: Donations from devotees and corporate sponsors are being pilfered by the committees of many places of worship, and nothing is being done by the authorities.

The Registrar of Societies does not make inquiries and the annual general meeting is attended by only a handful of members. Allegations of malpractice only end up in scuffles and chair-throwing.

It is time that the government starts regulating the management of places of worship, and the Societies Act 1966 revamped.

Malaysian Spring: One of the vehicles overturned is said to belong to the developer. What was it doing in the vicinity? Will the Pakatan Harapan government understand the situation and seek a remedy, or will it hide behind court orders and serve the interests of profit seekers? Let’s see what happens next.

Prav: The issue is between the temple devotees and the developer. Why were there 50 armed thugs “of another race” brought in? At 2.30am? This doesn’t involve them. If any party is guilty of hiring these thugs then they should be punished.

Anonymous 770241447347646: Harapan must be strict and enforce the law in this case. If it does not, those with personal agendas will take advantage of the situation.

Remember that you are now in the driving seat. Wake up to the reality that you have full authority to manage this nation.

Anonymous_bdd97e50: The government should order the developers to freeze all works until the situation cools down. There is a by-election around the corner, and certain groups might be out to create trouble.

Sunshine: The recent expressions of impatience and negative reactions towards Harapan government not delivering on the aspirations of its supporters is rather unfortunate. Let’s note that the government is hardly a year old; it replaced a regime that was in power since Merdeka.

The decades-long of the rule of the previous regime has resulted in entrenching individuals, groups and institutional practices, and reorientation will take time. Plus, Harapan’s present internal mix of political parties coexisting means that it has a rather tenuous hold on governance.

And don’t forget those who were defeated and those who were denied influence (individuals, groups, political parties, NGOs, freeloaders, etc), who may be motivated to create strife to return to power and influence.

Under such difficult circumstances, the impatience of Harapan supporters and those who expected immediate and glorious outcomes should have some patience and not be delusional.

SSDhaliwal: This is a smokescreen for something more sinister.

Anonyxyz: A number of recent incidents, including this, seem like the work of those who have lost political power and are trying to instigate unrest. Whether they are emboldened by the new government’s lax rule of law, or the home minister not taking fast and necessary actions to nip such incidents in the bud is anyone’s guess.

By the time the fireworks become real with no action taken by the government, it will be too late.

Fair Malaysian: Very shameful. This is not about God or religion, but money and power. - Mkini