TWO ministers have assured Seafield Sri Maha Mariamman temple devotees that the place of worship will not be demolished until its land issue is resolved.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department P. Waytha Moorthy and Human Resources Minister M. Kula Segaran gave the assurance after a two-hour meeting with the Save Seafield Temple Task Force committee today.

Waytha Moorthy said he will meet Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohammad to discuss the matter.

“I had a meeting with Dr Mahathir this morning and he was concerned about the issue.

“Kula and I will bring this matter to Dr Mahathir again and this temple will not be demolished until then,” he said after the meeting today.

The two ministers’ assurance comes after another night of violence in the vicinity of the temple early this morning, which left one fireman with critical injuries and damage to property developer One City Development Sdn Bhd’s office building.

Violence erupted on Monday after some 50 masked men stormed the 147-year-old house of worship and intimidated devotees into leaving.

Vehicles were torched, and some devotees were held at knifepoint until police arrived. Scuffles broke out when the worshippers tried to chase away the intruders.

Waytha Moorthy also said that he will ask Selangor exco V. Ganabatirau to discuss the issue with Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari. 

“I will discuss with the attorney-general how to keep this temple. I urge the people to be patient and let the police handle the matter.”

Waytha Moorthy called for all Malaysians to pray for those injured, including the fireman who is in critical condition. 

“I have also asked the temple to have a special prayer for the victims. Let’s not fan any racial sentiments. We have been living peacefully for 61 years.”

Kulasegaran said they will be meeting Dr Mahathir immediately to address the issue. 

“This is not the first time we had difficulty dealing with temple issues. There are 100 over temples in Malaysia that we need to find a solution for,” he said. – November 27, 2018.