PETALING JAYA, March 20 — A pre-independence Hindu temple, the Dewi Sri Pathrakaliamman Temple along Jalan Munshi Abdullah near Masjid India, has welcomed Kuala Lumpur City Hall’s (DBKL) decision to not demolish its structure pending relocation talks.
Representing the temple, lawyer N Surendran said the proposed demolition and relocation of the 132-year-old temple to make way for a mosque would disregard the historical development of house of worships, and it’s deep roots to the local community of Masjid India.
“The temple has clearly stated they would prefer to stay where they are and co-exist with other proposed construction in the area.
“We are glad that today at the eleventh hour, they has given a public commitment not to demolish the temple until this matter is satisfactorily resolved,” he said in a press conference here, referring to DBKL.
Earlier, DBKL said the relocation plan is due to a proposal by landowner Jakel Trading Sdn Bhd to build a mosque on its land.
The company has since said it has agreed to bear the costs of its relocation, and confirmed ongoing discussions with the temple committee for over a decade regarding the move.
Explaining the chronology of the event, Surendran said the temple had only been informed they were residing on a privately-owned land in 2016 after the land was sold to a developer two years earlier.
He said the temple along with the original temple artifacts and relics had moved to its current site after being ordered by DBKL to do so back in 2008.
He therefore said DBKL — an extension of the federal government itself — has a duty and responsibility because of the land deal it facilitated almost a decade ago.
Surendran also said parties were unable to reach an agreement over a new relocation site for the temple near the National Heart Institute a few kilometres away, citing distance, land size and flood risk.
Since then, he claimed the temple has been pressured to relocate and empty the land it resided following a Development Order issued to the landowner in 2020.
“This is the action of the then government and DBKL, and not the case of a temple building on someone else’s land,” he said.
Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan speaks to the media in a press conference held by Lawyers for Liberty. — Picture by Choo Choy May .
With demolition now paused, lawyer Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan said the temple committee has since come up with a counter suggestion to the ongoing predicament it faced.
She also expressed gratitude to DBKL for recognising the freedom of religion as enshrined under the Federal Constitution by allowing the temple to remain pending negotiations.
However, she said instituting legal action would be a last resort, as the temple remaining at its current site would be the most ideal outcome.
Lawyers for Liberty director Zaid Malek proposed that an open-air parking lot adjacent to the temple, owned by the same developer, could be used for development instead.
“If we were to demolish the temple, we would be disregarding the area’s identity, of which the temple has been part of. The easiest solution doesn’t require the temple’s demolition, as the proposed construction of a mosque can be done in the parking lot beside it.
“It is not good for a mosque to start out on a previously demolished house of worship,” he said.
