The announcement that the Vivekananda ashram in Brickfields and its surrounding land have been gazetted as a heritage site is a victory for the people of Malaysia who fought to save the site from being developed into a luxury condominium, MIC Youth chief C Sivaraajh said today.

The government, Sivaraajh said, rightly rejected the appeal by the board of trustees of the ashram.

“MIC Youth also welcomes the role played by Federal Territories Minister Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor, who had made things easier for the government to reach the heritage decision,” he added.

He said the trustees had first tried to sell the land about 26 years ago and made another attempt 11 years ago for RM15 million but both were aborted after strong public protests against the development efforts.

Signature campaign

Following this, the government was urged to step in and stop the trustees from going ahead with the project.

Sivaraah claimed MIC was at the forefront of the public protest, organising a signature campaign which, together with other NGOs, garnered over 100,000 signatures.

“We say the government has responded to the public outcry by declaring the site a heritage belonging to all Malaysians and in perpetuity.

“This is finally a grand gesture to the memory of a truly great man – Swami Vivekananda – who can rest in peace now.

“We propose the place to be converted as a knowledge and youth centre for the work that Swami Vivekanda is best known for,” he added.

In a written parliamentary reply today, Tourism and Culture Minister Nazri Abdul Aziz announced that the 110-year-old building will be made into a heritage site.