KEDAH Menteri Besar Muhammed Sanusi Md Nor must give his assurance that the state government will stop demolishing Hindu temples and will instead relocate them should the need arise, said a coalition of Hindu groups today.

 They also urged Sanusi to apologise for the destruction of temples that had taken place in the PAS-ruled state.

 “We want the Kedah menteri besar to apologise to the Hindu community for the demolition of the temples.

“He also should give assurance to the Hindus that these temples will be relocated to a new site agreed upon by the temple management and local leaders,” said Malaysian Hindu Unity Association (MAHA) president V. Kandasamy at a press conference in Brickfields today.

Six Hindu groups were represented in the press conference.

Three weeks ago, the Alor Star City Council demolished the Sri Raja Muniswarar Temple in Taman Bersatu, Kuala Kedah because it was built on state land.

It was the second temple demolition in the state in six months after the 100-year-old Kuil Madura Veeran at the entrance of the Alor Star railway station in July.

Sanusi, who came under fire for the destruction of the places of worship, responded by calling his critics, who were MIC and DAP leaders, “drunk and incoherent” in their defence of the temples.

Kandasamy today demanded an apology from the Kedah MB for his racist remarks.

“The Kedah MB has caused racial and religious tension by uttering uncalled for racist remarks saying Indians and Chinese are drunkards.

“Hence, he must apologise for his unethical racial remarks following the temple demolitions,” he said.

He said the Hindu coalition appealed to Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah and the Kedah ruler Sultan Sallehuddin Badlishah to take action against Sanusi to deter the MB and other leaders from such behaviour in the future.

A. Rajaretinam, who is the regional chairman of World Hindu Federation, said the temple demolitions in the northern state have angered and hurt the feelings of Hindus in Malaysia.
He said Sanusi should have sought out the temple authorities and local leaders to figure out how to avoid the demolitions.

“He (Sanusi) must understand that most of these temples were built before independence.

 “He also must know that Act 11 of the federal constitution allows freedom of worship for all religions in the country,” he said.

Rajaretinam said he was disappointed to see such disgraceful behaviour from a PAS leader, adding the Islamist party, under the late Tok Guru Nik Aziz Nik Mat, had shown tolerance and mutual respect.

The coalition urged Putrajaya to establish a Non-Muslim religious affairs department to ensure that matters pertaining to non-Muslims are duly addressed, especially issues related to the dismantling of places of worship. – December 21, 2020.