BRUSHING aside the so-called good intent by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to re-locate the 130-year-old Dewi Sri Pathrakaliamman Temple in Jalan Masjid India as “illogical and unreasonable”, Siti Kasim has laid down four justifications to back her thoughts.
#1 Historical timeline:
In echoing the view of Malaysia Advancement Party (MAP) president P. Waytha Moorthy who claimed that historical truths have been grossly oversimplified on the demolishment of thousands of Hindu temples over the years on grounds that they were illegally constructed on private land, the human rights activist and lawyer said:
“Official minutes from the Selangor Government Administration Reports of the late 1800s and early 1900s provide indisputable evidence that Hindu temples in the country were legally erected.
“They were built with clear consent of the then colonial British government acting under the authority of the Mlay rulers to facilitate the worshipping of mostly Tamil Hindu labourers from India who had immensely contributed to the development of the country’s plantation, railway, road and infrastructure sectors.
“Unfortunately, there was no structured land allocation system akin to what exists today but indeed the then British resident-general who acted as an adviser to the Selangor ruler had explicitly sanctioned the construction of Hindu temples to encourage the migration of Indian labourers.”
Fast forward to 2008, the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) has instructed the Dewi Sri Pathrakaliamman Temple to re-locate from its original site to its current site which is 200 metres away.
Then in 2012, the temple committee has submitted a request to DBKL for its land title to be gazetted as a “land reserve for non-Muslim places of worship under the Federal Territory land administration under Section 14 of the Land Acquisition Act 1960.
The request was not fulfilled yet in 2014, DBKL sold the land where the temple sits on today to Jakel Trading Sdn Bhd “through a non-open tender” without the knowledge of the temple committee
Only in 2016 did DBKL inform the temple committee of the temple land sale which till now a re-location has been on-going between Jakel Trading and the temple committee on a potential re-location of the temple.
#2 One mosque too many
Siti Kasim further concurred with the view expressed by foreign correspondent Hadi Azmi who pointed out that there are already three other mosques – probably within a 3km radius – within the vicinity of Jalan Masjid India.
For the record, the baffled South China Morning Post Malaysian correspondent has tweeted on the existence of Masjid India, Masjid Balai Polis Dang Wangi and Masjid Jamek which “are minutes from each other”.
“This is a verry legitimate question,” opined the Orang Asli advocate as she held back her laughter that the Masjd Madani will soon join the fray (PMX is scheduled to perform its ground-breaking ceremony on March 27).
#3 Why is PMX giving the impression of temple re-location?
“Moreover, the temple committee has stated that they disagree with the plan to re-locate, hence why is there a narrative of PMX and his clicks saying otherwise? … This is terrible and a very bad going,” asserted Siti Kasim.
#4 Private matter vs public interest
To this question, Siti Kasim highlighted the norm where it is customary for a landlord to ask the tenant first if he/she is keen to buy the property if it is going up for sale.
Incredibly, DBKL has the chic to state that this is a private matter between Jakel Trading and the temple committee when public interest is very much at stake.
Thus, is DBKL trying to wash its hands on the matter when the entire mess stemmed from its own doing by not informing the temple committee on the land sale to Jakel Trading?
This is a place of worship for Hindu devotees to seek blessings from their God/s as well as the public given its historical heritage … this is not a secluded private place.
As Malaysians, we should save the temple as precedent to ensure that there will be no further demolishment of temples on grounds of land acquisition by greedy quarters. – March 23, 2025
Post-script: Lawyers for Liberty executive director Zaid Malek has reiterated an earlier proposal to retain the Dewi Sri Pathrakaliamman Temple at its current location and for the proposed Madani Mosque to be built on the adjacent vacant plot.
He further chided PMX over his statement which he deemed as tantamount to giving an ultimatum to the temple before on-going tripartite discussions (between Jakel Trading and the temple committee with DBKL being the mediator) is completed.
“The solution is to let the temple remain in place and build the mosque on the vacant land next to it. All right-thinking Malaysians will support this,” Malaysiakini cited the advocate for the preservation of the Dewi Sri Pathrakaliamman temple as saying in a statement.
“If Anwar claims to be PM for all Malaysians, this is the solution he must support.”
