The Shah Alam City Hall (DBSA) today explained that it had no intentions of demolishing the 107-year-old Sri Maha Mariamman Hindu temple in Section 11.

According to deputy mayor Za'ba Che Rus ( photo:right ), the plan was to only demolish the perimeter concrete wall which was erected recently without proper approval.

However, he said the city hall decided to defer the demolition exercise for another four weeks to allow the temple committee to sort out their appeals with the relevant authorities.

"We will not touch even one inch of the temple," he assured several concerned Hindus who met him this morning.

He stressed that the temple would not be affected by the demolition work and that they were working under orders from the state education department and the state government.

A DBSA notice dated April 14 was sent to the temple to inform temple caretakers that the DBSA would be demolishing the 'squatter building' within seven days, as required under the law.

Drama at DBSA

Anticipating demolition works today, devotees and concerned citizens began gathering at the temple compound as early as 7am.

A group of about 20 devotees later left the scene to hold discussions with DBSA officials. The group eventually met with Za'ba near the lift lobby of the MBSA building.

Here, tensions rose when the deputy mayor initially agreed to give only a week's reprieve.

While one devotee tried to explain to Za'ba the spiritual significance of the wall, another irate devotee likened its demolishment to disabling a person and stopping short of killing him.

After repeated pleadings, the deputy mayor relented and said that he could delay demolition action for another four weeks, provided that temple committee members sign an agreement not to interfere with DBSA after the deadline expired.

Century-old temple

The century-old temple was consecrated in the then rubber estate known as Bukit Jelutong. Since 1977, the temple committee has made various applications in vain to the state government to be recognised as legal holders of the land.

Presently, the temple sits on land gazetted for Sekolah Kebangsaan Seksyen 11. It is understood that the state government issued the demolition orders following complaints from the state education department.

Temple committee member VK Regu, among the signatories of the agreement with DBSA, insisted that the land rightly belonged to the temple and that they were not illegal squatters as the temple had been in existence even before the Shah Alam township came about.

However, when asked about the 'squatter' status of the temple, Za'ba reiterated that no action would be taken on the temple for the time being.

"The state committee on non-Muslim places of worship will overlook and suggest the best move for the temple. There have been suggestions to relocate all (illegal) non-Muslim places of worship to Seksyen 18.

"The state government has already allocated funding for the relocation," he added.

Za'ba explained that each case will be handled individually and advised caretakers of such premises to discuss the issue with DBSA as soon as possible.