The government should immediately gazette the Vivekananda Ashram in Brickfields as a national heritage instead for waiting for the 30-day notice period, says the Malaysian Hindraf Association.

 

Its chairperson P Waythamoorthy ( right ) said while he welcomed Tourism Minister Nazri Abdul Aziz's move to commence the gazette procedures, it is "a little disappointed" that the minister did not invoke his powers for an immediate gazette.

 

"Hindraf is a little disappointed that Nazri is not utilising his powers under Section 67 of the National heritage Act (NHA) which gives the minister an immediate power to make an order to declare the building as heritage and gazette the same, without the need to serve any prior notice to the Vivekananda ashram trustees.

 

"It now looks as if the ministry is using the powers conferred to the Heritage Commissioner under Section 24 NHA 2005," Waythamoorthy said.

 

The ashram trustees want to develop a 23-storey building behind the 110-year-old building, sparking public outrage.

 

Prior to Nazri's ( left ) announcement last week, Federal Territories Minister Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor said the building was private property and there was nothing the government could except to "advise" the trustees.

 

As such, Waythamoorthy said he will halt his plan to sue the government for now in light of Nazri's move to gazette the historical building.

 

"We will now wait for the outcome of this announcement till March next year and would review our intentions to take the government to court if the ashram is not gazetted by then,” he added.

 

Under the gazette procedure, the trustees must be given a 30-day notice, after which there will be a three-month objection period.