KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 25: The events that transpired in Rawang between 12.00 midnight and 2.00 a.m. today, resulting in the removal and effective demolition of the Utchimalai Rawang Hindu temple, represent an affront to the rule of law in Malaysia, say the lawyers for the temple management.
“There is no justification for executing unlawful eviction action against a place of worship under cover of darkness. Matters implicating religious freedom and communal sensitivity demand judicial oversight — not midnight operations,” lawyers Rajesh Nagarajan and Sachpreetraj Singh said in a statement today.
“The presence and involvement of the police in facilitating this exercise raise serious concerns as to whether law enforcement has overstepped its neutral mandate and lent institutional weight to a private party’s objective,” they said.
If Yayasan Kubra believed it had lawful entitlement to the land, the proper course is straightforward: obtain an order from the Court and execute it transparently in accordance with that order and not take matters into their own hands, they added.
There must be no further interference with the land, the site, or any associated structures unless and until there is an order from a Court issuing a specific order authorising such action.
Rajesh also denied claims by Yayasan Kubra representative Ariff Omar today that the temple committee had voluntarily removed the deities. “The temple chairman had lodged a police report only yesterday complaining that the temple was being pressured to vacate the land without any court order.”
He said the temple was built in the 1990s.
— WE