Malaysia to Protect Hindu Temples
Malaysia's government unveiled Monday a major initiative to protect
Hindu temples, hoping to pacify ethnic Indians who complain that
hundreds of their places of worship have been demolished in this
Muslim-majority country.
Samy Vellu, an ethnic Indian minister in the Cabinet, said the prime
minister has asked him to "continuously monitor" all the temples in
the country and submit information on their status periodically. He
said in a statement that he will travel nationwide soon to compile a
report.
"We will identify the illegally built temples first and check on their
status. We want to know if there have been any moves or notices to
demolish or relocate them," Samy said.
The destruction by authorities of Hindu temples, deemed by the state
to be illegally built, was one of the main grievances of the
impoverished ethnic Indians who poured into the streets on Nov. 25 in
an unprecedented anti-government rally.
The violent protest stunned Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's
administration, unaccustomed to such public display of anger, and
raised fears of ethnic and racial tensions in this normally peaceful
country.
The government maintains that it demolishes only temples built
illegally on state or private lands. But Indian community leaders say
many of the temples were built during British colonial rule on
plantations with permission from the then-owners.
They say that after independence in 1957, the government failed to
legalize the temples or list them as national property, even though
all mosques were given that privilege.
Indians, who are mostly Hindus and are about 8 percent of Malaysia's
27 million people, also complain that religious discrimination has
denied them economic opportunities, government jobs and places in
universities in favor of the majority Muslim Malays.
Malays make up 60 percent of the population and control politics and
the government. Samy is the sole ethnic Indian Cabinet minister.
Ethnic Chinese account for about a quarter.
Samy said that the prime minister "specifically wanted" a list of all
temples that are to be demolished for whatever reason.
In cases where temples are set to be demolished, "suitable alternative
sites must be allocated so that Hindus can continue to worship," Samy
said. "No temples, either legal or illegally built, will be demolished
without a thorough check and discussion."
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