Shah Alam Municipal Council (MBSA) deputy mayor, Mokhtar Hani said it was not a temple that was demolished as alleged by MIC, but rather an altar used by punters to obtain lucky numbers, built illegally on government land.

"We demolished an illegal structure, following complaints by the Jabatan Kerjaraya Daerah Petaling Jaya on the Jan 19," said Mokhtar.

NONE Mokhtar ( left ) said that the structure was built on government land without permission.

"The alleged Mathurai Veeran Temple is in actual fact an altar for punters to obtain numbers for gambling purposes.

"In fact, the altar was being maintained by these punters," said Mokhtar.

"MBSA carried an inspection on Feb 16 and found out that there were six structures that was built without permission (of MBSA), and immediately issued a warning notice to the owners concerned to demolish the illegal structures that were put up," said Mohtar.

Mohtar also said the owner of the structure, Muniandy Kathan, filed an appeal to MBSA to be given a one-month grace period starting from Feb 20 until March 20 this year to relocate the illegal structure, but failed to do so.

Following this, MBSA conducted an inspection on Oct 20 and found that not only had the original structure not been removed, but additions were made to it.

As such, he said, the MBSA had no choice but to demolish the structures on Oct 21 since there was no sign of any action on the part of the owner to relocate the structure all this while.

He said this in response to the statement by MIC president S Samy Vellu yesterday that the council had demolished a Hindu temple.

'Don't exploit the matter, MIC told'

MBSA councilor Uthayasoorian Kalimuthu meanwhile expressed his disappointment with MIC for having manipulated the issue in an attempt to gain sympathy and support.

"MIC cannot use religion for politics.We do not want MIC to exploit this issue for their ‘survival'," Uthayasoorian said.

He also said that MBSA takes such allegations, which clearly incites religious sensitivities, seriously.

NONE "We will not hesitate to take further action and also consider lodging a police report if necessary," said Uthayasoorian ( right ).

Mokhtar also said there was a temple for Hindu devotees not far away from the demolished altar.

Earlier, Selangor MIC Youth head Shanker Raj Ayanger who visited the demolition site said he would hand over a memorandum to Selangor Menteri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim on Wednesday to protest against the demolition of the structure.

Shanker also said a report was lodged at the Bukit Jelutong police station yesterday over the incident.