Former deputy home minister Tan Chai Ho and 168 devotees have today applied to be a defendant in a suit filed by Kepong Development Sdn Bhd.

The developer wants to demolish a Chinese temple built in 1953 and evict the devotees.

The temple called Hock Sui Tong was registered with the Registrar of Societies in 2000 and had been occupying the land while the residents who are all Chinese, said to be squatters, have been relocated to low-cost housing in Laman Damai, Kepong.

The developer is seeking to demolish the temple with a deity in it and all the devotees want is for the developer to allocate a one-acre land for the temple and deity to be relocated to.

Initially the developer named Ng Ah Sang, who is the temple priest, to be a defendant.

However, an application was filed by lawyer P Uthayakumar yesterday to name Tan, who is the patron of the temple and the 168 devotees along with Kuil Taoist Persatuan Penganut Hock Sui Tong, Kepong as the second defendant.

In their application to substitute Ng's name with Tan and the association, they claimed that the company is taking a shortcut move, following Ng's move to purchase a house through Kepong (the company) but had refused to move the temple.

Despite correspondences to the demand letter and originating summons for vacant possession of the temple land, which named Ng, they said this is not proper as he does not stay on the said land.

The application states that the plaintiff had failed to name the temple or the society despite knowing of its existence for 63 years and the devotees’ usage of the temple as a place of worship.

Tan and the others in the application said the company had allegedly acted mala fide in naming them and Tan as the patron.

Temple has 1,000 devotees

In Ng’s affidavit in support of the application, he said that there are about 1,000 devotees of the temple as they had previously stayed in the vicinity.

He further showed the temple society’s registration and bank account to show that it is registered.

Ng said the temple was developed by Ng Yik Chi and the ancestors of the residents in 1953, when they worked as rubber tappers. His father Ng Phor Sung was also a priest of the temple and he passed away last August.

The deity Guang Sheng Da Di was brought from the Fujian Province in China, along with other deities, Gan Ying Zun Wang and Guan Yin Fo Zu.

He further claimed the temple has received recognition from the local authorities. In 1970, Kepong Development bought the land.

Ng claimed that a director of Kepong Development, the late Wong Bin Chen @ Ng Chi Leong, had promised the transfer of the temple land to the temple, and the promise was made by Wong at least four times in a meeting.

Wong, he said, even donated the deity Qian Shou Guan Yin, which was previously kept in his office, to be consecrated and kept at the temple.

He further claimed that the move to demolish the temple is a violation of his and the devotees’ right under Article 10, on freedom of expression and freedom of religion and also Article 8 on equality.

Ng said they received an eviction notice on Aug 22 this year and they had been given three months to vacate the land, and subsequently a court action to evict the temple was filed two days ago.

Case fixed before a judge

Uthayakumar said the case came up for case management before Kuala Lumpur High Court deputy registrar Norfauzani Mohd Nordin today, who has been informed of the application to substitute Ng’s name as the defendant with Tan and the 168 devotees.

He said the case is now fixed before Justice Mohd Zaki Abdul Wahab, on Jan 12 for case management.

The lawyer said Tan had come to meet him almost two weeks ago to seek his help.

The problem, he said, is that the temple land despite its historical significance, has not been alienated from the title.

“However, the devotees are not asking much as they want a one-acre land for the temple and the deities to be relocated. I think this is a feasible request and as affirmed by Ng, one of the former directors of the plaintiff had also donated a deity for safe-keeping and had promised the transfer of the temple land to the temple,” he said.