THERE are hopeful signs that Perak’s famous cave temples will be gazetted with land titles specifying religious use, following the first meeting of the state’s special committee on the long-standing issue.

Custodians of the temples, some more than a century old, as well as an elected representative who sits on the special committee, said the meeting was able to draw up a road map for religious land status applications.

Some temple custodians, however, are worried they would not pass the inspection stage without forking out large sums to make structural adjustments.

Kong Run Hon, founder of the Jubaoyan Thai Buddhist Temple, said he is worried that the temple would not qualify for religious land status.

“After we submit the application, there will still be an inspection, and my concern is that we won’t meet their standards, or we may require a lot of funds in order to meet those standards,” Kong told The Malaysian Insight.

“We are a non-profit organisation. If we have to spend a large sum on renovation, it will be a big burden. But if it is within our capabilities, of course we will cooperate.”

Jubaoyan is a relatively new temple, having been established less than three years ago.

Kong had applied for a title deed, which, upon inspection, was verbally promised to him. But more than a year later, he received an eviction notice.

The Perak Land and Mines Department issued 30-day eviction notices to 19 cave temples early last month, taking many by surprise as they had existed and operated peacefully for years, although without legal documentation and legislative control.

Perak Menteri Besar Saarani Mohamad – who previously said the notices were issued due to safety concerns – recognised the sensitivity of the issue and set up a special committee comprising government and opposition political parties.

While the eviction notice has not been rescinded and the eviction date has passed, the land office has said that no action will be taken against the temples, which are also popular tourist spots.

Simpang Pulai assemblyman Tan Kar Hing, who is a member of the state’s special committee, said some consensus was reached at the first meeting.

He previously called for a proper policy on the cave temples, without which the issue cannot be resolved.

“If there is no policy or guidelines in place, there is no way to conduct safety reviews and apply for approvals in the future.

“The director of the land office also hopes that this special committee will continue to meet for the long term,” Tan, who is from PKR, said.

Explaining the road map, he said upon application to be gazetted as a land for worship, structural evaluation will be conducted to ensure technical and safety standards are met.

When asked if he was worried that some temples would not pass inspection, Tan said each case would be death with “according to individual circumstances”.

“We have not discussed this in depth, but we want to preserve as many temples as possible. We will deal with each case accordingly.”

The 155-year-old Nam Thean Tong Temple has also submitted its application to the land authorities, said custodial committee chairman Chai Kwai Hoong.

“We had to prepare a lot of information and documents. I hope there will be good news,” he said.

Chai said they are now awaiting inspection.

“I believe it’s a good start this time around because the director of the land office has expressed that he wants to solve this issue once and for all.”

Cally Ting, Perak MCA’s ethnic relations and religious affairs bureau head, said the party had assisted all the temples with their applications.

“Hopefully, they will be gazetted soon, but a final decision will be made after an inspection by the land office.”

She said because it involves land for the use of worship, the process is a little more complicated. – February 20, 2022.