FEATURE A temple is more than just a religious place - it is also a place where people gather and interact. And often, the transformation of a temple is closely interrelated with the social history of the community.

Just as the old Kuala Lumpur Gurdwara Sahib Polis has witnessed the surrounding historical buildings disappear in the name of modernisation, the temple’s future is now in question.

Lostgens Contemporary Art Space director Yeoh Lian Heng is a keen follower of Kuala Lumpur’s development, particularly changes to central Kuala Lumpur where the gallery is located.

In the 1990s, the Urban Development Authority of Malaysia (Uda) took over a large area of land in central Kuala Lumpur to improve the living standards of urban Malays, Yeoh said.

Many years later, the land appropriated by Uda extended to the Bukit Bintang and Jalan Sultan areas, where many historical buildings were demolished to give way to the Mass Rail Transit (MRT) project.

How the gurdwara remains standing

The land on which the gurdwara stands was among those taken over by the government in the 1990s, but the committee decided not to budge.

Yeoh believes that the Sikh temple’s historical ties to the police force was their bargaining chip to negotiate with the government to this day, even if the land no longer belonged to them.

But with pressure from Uda, the gurdwara committee worry that the historical structure will turn to rubble, prompting them to join a cultural heritage preservation campaign.

Yeoh himself joined the ‘Preserve Jalan Sultan Campaign’ four years ago.

He recalled that the gurdwara provided much assistance to the campaigners, including providing electricity for the organisers and performers.

Hardev Singh, who leads the gurdwara committee, however, declined to confirm this, perhaps unwilling to involve the gurdwara in political issues.