The private developer that asked a century-old Anglican church to vacate its premises to make way for commercial development said it will cooperate to find an alternative location for the church in Kajang.

This followed the decision by the Kajang municipal council (MPKj) to reject plans to relocate to and build the church in Phase 8A of Taman Bukit Mewah following protests by residents.

Tan Wan San, the company secretary of developer Serba Sentosa Sdn Bhd, said the company could not merely abandon the church completely to its own devises after requesting it to leave its current premises.

"Of course, if we can help, we will work together with the church to find an alternative location for its building," he added when contacted today.

However, he did not disclose whether any particular area in Kajang had already been identified for the church's relocation.

He also refused to say whether a time-frame had been given to the church to move out of its current building.

"That's an internal company matter that we cannot disclose to the public," he said when asked.

Signature campaign

Tan said although construction had begun two years ago 'in many parcels of land' surrounding the church, which is situated within Kajang town, development has yet to come anywhere close to affecting the church's activities.

"We have built shop lots in some areas, but those places are very far off from the church. We haven't reached anywhere near the stage where they have to move anytime soon," he added.

While one church parishioner, when contacted for comments on MPKj's rejection, expressed relief at not having to move for the time being. The office of the Anglican bishop for West Malaysia refused to comment on the matter.

More than 1,000 Muslims from Phase 8A of the project are said to have signed a petition opposing the relocation of the church and registered their protest in a Feb 16 memorandum to MPKj.