THE recent temple demolitions in Kedah have angered Hindus, and could wreck the unity and harmony of this multi-religious country, said a Hindu-based group.

Malaysia Hindhu Dharma Maamandram president Radhakrishnan Alagamalai said the government should be sensitive when handling such issues, and that proper discussions should be held prior to any demolition of places of worship.

Radhakrishnan told The Malaysian Insight the association will be holding a joint press conference with several other Hindu groups on December 21 to voice the sentiments of Hindus in the country on the contentious issue.

“Our intention is to send a message to the government, that if there are temples to be demolished, then the state government or relevant authorities must give proper notification to Hindu leaders, as well as the temple management so that the issue could be discussed.

“There are sacred rites involving Hindu temples. So, everything must be taken into consideration before just blindly demolishing the temples,” Radhakrishnan told The Malaysian Insight.

He said 10 Hindu groups had confirmed their participation in the joint press conference, and that he was waiting for others, including the Malaysia Hindu Sangam, to confirm.

Two weeks ago, the Alor Star City Council demolished the Sri Raja Muniswarar Temple in Taman Bersatu, Kuala Kedah, as it sat on state land.

Kedah is now governed by the Islamist party PAS following a February takeover by Perikatan Nasional (PN).

This was the second temple demolition in the state within six months, the first being that of the 100-year-old Kuil Madura Veeran at the entrance of the Alor Star railway station, which occurred in July.

Following the second incident, Kedah Menteri Besar Muhammed Sanusi Md Nor described his critics, especially MIC and DAP leaders, as being “drunk and incoherent” for defending the temples.

Radhakrishnan said that the Kedah MB had been very partial with his decision and acted insensitively by making such comments.

“Being a state leader, it was uncalled for Sanusi to do such things. As a state leader, he must be the representative of the state and cannot be taking sides,” he said.

“He must care for all the people in the state, not just for one particular race,” he said.

“When it comes to temples, they must understand that there are ways to do certain things. In this case, they should have respected the beliefs of the Hindus when it involves relocation and demolition.”

“Malaysia is a multi-religious country, where we have been living in harmony, we don’t want any sensitive issue to cause a problem. A good example is the Seafield temple issue two years ago, which resulted in riots.

“So, let’s sit and talk before jumping into making any decisions,” Radhakrishnan said.

Committee at local council level

Last week, National Unity Minister Halimah Mohamed Sadique proposed setting up a committee with the participation of the local councils to identify illegal temples and churches.

Halimah said she spoke with Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin about forming such a committee in all the local councils to check on non-Muslim places of worship.

Officers from her ministry were to identify all the registered and non-registered non-Muslim houses of worship.

In response to the proposal, the Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism (MCCBCHST) and the Council of Churches Malaysia (CCM) called the authorities to be more diligent.

MCCBCHST president R.S. Mohan Shan, who is also the Malaysian Hindu Sangam president, said the authorities must consult them before acting against non-Muslim places of worship.

The Council of Churches Malaysia general secretary Reverend Hermen Shastri meanwhile, said the proposal of the committee caught the religious bodies by surprise.

He said that it would be best for the state or local councils to deal with non-Muslim places of worship. – December 18, 2020.