About 30 protestors are holding a rotating vigil at a 60-year-old temple in Petaling Jaya to prevent it being relocated to make way for development, an activist said today.

"We are prepared for a standoff. The devotees are taking turns to guard the temple to ensure the statues are not removed," said P Uthayakumar, legal advisor to the Hindu Rights Action Force, a non-governmental organisation opposing the destruction of temples.

Uthayakumar said the temple, built on land owned by the Selangor state government, was being forced to shift to make way for housing.

Authorities were trying to force it to a controversial location across a highway next to a sewerage pond and a power station, he said.

"Some 5,000 families pray at the temple. If it shifted, it will cause problems to the devotees," he said, adding it was the only temple in the area.

The temple is in Lindungan village, where most residents are manual workers.

Private land

In recent weeks, activists have held rare demonstrations to protest temple destruction.

They say that in the past three months some 17 temples have either been destroyed or threatened with demolition.

Issues related to race, religion and language are sensitive in multiracial Malaysia where some 60 percent of the population of 25 million are Malays. Chinese and Indians account for 26 percent and 8.0 percent respectively.

Many temples were built by Indian migrant labourers on private land since acquired by local and state authorities that now say they are illegal buildings.