DEVELOPER One City today denied that it was behind an attack on temple devotees at the Sri Maha Mariamman temple in Subang Jaya this morning.

Some 150 men reportedly stormed the temple at 2.15am this morning in an attempt to intimidate devotees into leaving, witnesses told The Malaysian Insight.

Ten vehicles were burnt before 100 police personnel were deployed to the 147-year-old temple at about 5am.

One City Developer, which said it owns the tract of land the temple sits on, denied it was behind the attack.

“One City wishes to categorically and strenuously deny the baseless allegations that it was involved in the altercation or that it started the ‘scuffle’,” it said, calling allegations that the company orchestrated the incident “malicious lies”.

“One City condemns any acts of violence or insinuations that it would resort to such despicable acts,” it said.

It said it has taken the appropriate legal route to take back possession of its land and that any allegations to the contrary will be met with “legal action”.

“It is not to the advantage of One City to create an atmosphere of unease, unnecessary tension, or aggravation on its own land, as has been insinuated by certain parties.

“This would defeat the purpose of One City having gone through a lengthy legal process, and requesting the assistance of the authorities in order to facilitate the relocation of the temple in a peaceful and orderly manner.”

The developer said it had postponed taking possession of the land several times to ensure the process was done peacefully.

Temple priest S. Jayakumar said that devotees would not leave the temple and wanted the state government to step in to solve the issue.

The Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism, and Taoism (MCCBCHST) urged the police to take action against the attackers.

“The MCCBCHST urges all peace-loving Malaysians to remain calm and allow the police to carry out their duties professionally,” it said in a statement. – November 26, 2018.