COMING soon: a law prohibiting the construction of places of worship on land not belonging to the devotees.

This was the response of the new Pakatan Harapan government in the aftermath of the attack on the Seafield Sri Maha Mariamman temple in Subang Jaya on Monday.

Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said this needed immediate attention as many Hindu temples were built on land belonging to others.

“The government will pass a law that houses of worship, like mosques, temples or churches, cannot be built without the permission of the local authority.

“They cannot built on land that does not belong to them,” he said at a press conference after chairing a Bersatu supreme council meeting in Petaling Jaya today.

The prime minister also said he was unaware of reports that the Selangor government would acquire the land on which the temple sits to allow devotees to continue worshipping there.

“I don’t know,” he said when prompted.

The temple has been involved in a battle with developer One City Development Sdn Bhd, who own the land where the temple stands. The temple’s management has  refused to move, saying the house of worship has been there for more than 140 years, long before One City Development bought the land in 2007.

Early on Monday morning, a group of armed men attacked devotees at the temple, causing injuries and damaging property and cars.

Dr Mahathir today said the developer had followed a court order for the temple to relocate, but said it was a mistake to hire thugs to take over the temple.

“There was an appeal and the court said it was proper that the temple be moved and that compensation be made.

“The company has given compensation and expected the temple (devotees to move) soon, and they felt they should guard the temple (in case) somebody (wanted to) destroy it.

“But they made the mistake of hiring Malays to guard the temple. You cannot hire Hindus to look after a mosque. Outsiders cannot understand this,” he said. 

He also said that the government had to handle the matter delicately as there would be “a lot of objections and reactions”.

“We don’t want to stir up trouble where there is no trouble.

“We have to go according to the rules and laws of the country. The government cannot interfere in the court process. The previous government said yes, but not this government.”

Earlier today, Home Minister Muhyiddin Yassin had said lawyers linked to he developer had paid Malay thugs to attack and secure the temple.

Police have arrested 28 suspects linked to the case, including two lawyers.

The Malaysian Insight also reported sources as saying that the Selangor government would acquire the land from the developer and hand it over to the temple. – November 28, 2018.