Deputy Law Minister Wants Permanent Solution To Risky Race Religion Issues

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The controversy surrounding the Dewi Sri Pathrakaliamman temple has emphasised the need to establish a permanent solution to prevent repeat incidents, said Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) M Kulasegaran.
Addressing a press conference at the temple in Kuala Lumpur tonight, Kulasegaran said such “risky” situations involving race and religion must be prevented in the future.
“There is a need to avoid incidents like this in the nation. Oftentimes when situations like this happen, we’re on very risky (ground) as the matter involves race.
“It is hoped that a final solution can be achieved (where) we will find an eventual way out (of dealing with such issues),” said Kulasegaran, who is also DAP’s Ipoh Barat MP.
Earlier today, MIC deputy president M Saravanan told Malaysiakini that Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) has agreed to relocate the temple to a new 4,000 square feet plot of land about 50m from its current site on Jalan Munshi Abdullah, off Jalan Masjid India.
The Dewi Sri Pathrakaliamman templeSaravanan said the land will be gazetted for the temple permanently, while its current structure, which was built in 1893, is expected to be demolished to make way for a mosque.
He added that the temple will remain operational until the new temple has been established.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim previously stated that the temple was built without permission and must be handled lawfully while ensuring a respectful relocation.
‘Many don’t understand why this happens’
Meanwhile, Kulasegaran highlighted that there are misconceptions among the public regarding temples, particularly those which lack land grants as they were built on estates’ properties. 
“A lot of people don’t understand why temples on estates and temples like (Dewi Sri Pathrakaliamman) have no land grant. 
“(Such temples) have existed for a long time, but when the estate (property) is sold off, then it becomes a problem as the temples have no land grant and their temple land is not set aside for them,” he said.
ADSHe asserted that the Dewi Sri Pathrakaliamman temple faced a similar situation, noting that the temple’s committee had informed him that over 200 people visit the religious site every day to pray. 
Malaysia Council of Hindu Temples and Hindu Associations (Mahima) president N Sivakumar earlier told Malaysiakini that older and larger temples were historically built by estate workers when land was controlled by the British administration.
He highlighted that, at the time, it was not obvious who devotees should apply to for a house of worship.
He also said Mahima is currently planning a blueprint for building Hindu houses of worship, with the initiative to cover all sorts of issues such as how to register with the Registrar of Societies (ROS), where to apply for funds, suitable locations and so on. 
On a similar topic, Kulasegaran mooted suggestions for the government to establish a non-Muslim committee tasked with analysing temples in the nation. 
Such an undertaking, he said, would be able to look into establishing a solution for temples nationwide. 
In February, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said Putrajaya has rejected the proposal to establish a ministerial position dedicated to non-Islamic religious affairs. 
He explained that the concerns of religious diversity are sufficiently addressed with the presence of a religious affairs minister, a national unity minister, and a Harmony Committee that represents all ethnic and religious groups in the country.
Land value unknown
Also present at the press conference today was DAP chairperson Gobind Singh Deo, who welcomed recent developments surrounding the Dewi Sri Pathrakaliamman temple. 
Gobind Singh DeoNoting that he had been assisting the temple’s committee after they contacted him about a month and a half ago to express their concerns regarding the temple’s status, Gobind expressed his gratitude to all those involved in achieving the resolution. 
When asked about the value of the 4,000 square feet plot of land offered to the temple, Gobind said he was not in the know regarding such details. 
In 2014, DBKL had sold the land housing the temple to its current owner, textile company Jakel Group. 
Jakel recently announced its plan to build a mosque there, which it will name the Madani Mosque, with Anwar scheduled to officiate its groundbreaking ceremony this Thursday.  - Mkini

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