* The temple that was slated for demolishment in Shah Alam (Picture Source: www.policewatchmalaysia.com). The history of the temple is here
At first I thought that only we Hindus got screwed. Then running through other websites reveals that we were not alone.
The Malaysian Bar Council reported 2 other incidents involving a Buddhist temple and a Church (both got reported in the mainstream media as well). The stories are old but worth mentioning in light of the recent demolishment of Hindu temples.
"The Jasin Reclining Buddha statue, purportedly second largest in the country was demolished on Wednesday, along with a Siamese Temple next to it. A 300-man demolition squad comprising personnel from the police, General Operations Force, fire and rescue department, water board, Tenaga Nasional, Jasin district council and Public Works Department officials took five hours to pull down the temple and leveled the 20m-long statue located inside an orchard"
"Some 300 people representing the police, Federal Reserve Unit, Johor Baru Land Office, the Public Works and Religious Affairs Department and Tenaga Nasional Bhd were present to witness the demolition work"
Although these incidents could be isolated and may been built recently and contravening the local laws, there are more questions raised than answers. For example:-
1. The Buddhist temple was built on private land – it may contradict the land usage provision but does it warrant a total demolishment of the temple?
2. Was the prior notices was sent in proper order?
3. What in the hell the Religious Affairs Department doing witnessing the demolishment of a church? To monitor the destruction of anything that is deemed “un-Islam”?
More questions than answers indeed! All this things happening whilst one guy by the name of “Pak Lah” going around the country talking about Islam Hadhari and how it does not marginalize the other religions. Some how I am not convinced at all – seeing is more believing than hearing.
If some of you deem this sound like a racist post, well read the articles and ask yourself who is the real culprit here. Even if things are done not accordance to the law, there are better way to deal with it. Being high handed is going to make people angry and frustrated. It should not happen…not at this time and certainly not in Malaysia where there are multiple races and religions.
Your call Pak Lah…
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