Most Read
Most Commented
Read more like this
mk-logo
From Our Readers
Seafield temple a saga of flawed business motives

LETTER | The ongoing unrest over the Hindu temple saga in Subang Jaya is clearly a manifestation of the pro-development mania and this precedes all other considerations. Period.

An over-100-year-old temple would have served nearly three generations of devotees.

To demand through the courts of law for the relocation of this place of worship in order to allow a business to bulldoze its so-called development plan is a most foolish business decision one can make.

Any amount of apparent public relations campaign or seemingly social responsibility activities carried out by the embroiled developer cannot right a fundamental wrong.

Here is a lesson to be learned not only by the business community of Malaysia but also by the government - humanity must respect, honour and protect a legacy. You cannot sell it.

More so when you deal with matters related to the soul. A temple of over 100 years has a history. It has devotion. It touches the nerve of people's piety and fulfilment.

The question is, why must a historic, three-generation place of worship be relocated?

Is development or making more money (translated as “business success” by those with vested pursuits) more important than the priceless reality of worship, devotion and spirituality that knits together the soul of humanity?

We have to ask some very hard questions here if we want to see a Malaysia that is truly harmonious in the long run.

We have to review and address our national will that seems to have put financial and economic development above the spiritual equation that makes up our multi-religious Malaysia.

In the final analysis, the root of the problem is not the breaking of the law by the protesters. It is about disregarding a 100-year -old place of worship for the sake of business.

If the Mid-Valley mall developer could have prudently kept the historic temple intact, why could the One City not learn some lessons from this?

Indeed then, this is a case of a flawed business motivation.


The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.

ADS