Do not build places of worship to compete, says Dr M

Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad being briefed by TNB President and Chief Executive Officer Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan (right) on the replica of the An-Nur Islamic Complex Complex the TNB headquarters after opening the complex today. Also present were Minister of Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change Yeo Bee Yin (2nd left), and TNB Chairman Tan Sri Leo Moggie (left).--BERNAMA photo

KUALA LUMPUR: It is alright to build big buildings for religious rituals, but do not build them to compete with each other, says Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

He said that one should not compare whose building or monument for religious worship was bigger and create a competition to build bigger and taller places of worship.

"People have the right to build big monuments (as in buildings to perform religious rituals), but people must not compete with each other on whose (monument) is bigger, who is taller," said Dr Mahathir.

He said this after officiating the new Balai Islam Complex at Tenaga Nasional Berhad headquarters in Bangsar on Jan 16, in conjunction with its 70th anniversary.

The new complex can accommodate 2,850 devotees at one time with various other facilities.

Earlier in his speech, Dr Mahathir praised TNB for making a success story out of its privatisation, which in return has benefited its employees. - Star