The Petaling district land office has been urged to resolve woes faced by worshippers of six temples in Shah Alam, as their places of worship are being relocated by the authorities to unsuitable locations.

The six temples which represent different denominations of the Hindu faith, are being asked to relocate to a flood prone area near high tension electrical wires and a filthy river.

In a letter to the district land officer of the Petaling Jaya district Mazalan Mohd Noor, Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) legal advisor P Uthayakumar (left) explained that the location was not agreeable to the six temples.

"All these temples are of different deities and denominations and cannot be relocated to one site and under one roof," wrote Uthayakumar, while decrying the physical unsuitability of the plot of land offered.

Several meetings were held over the past months between the land office and caretakers of the six temples.

Despite protest from the temple caretakers, it was finally decided the six temples would be relocated to a plot of land in an industrial area of Section 18 in Shah Alam.

Constitutional right

Uthayakumar explained that the Hindu communities need to have a temple within their vicinity, such as how Muslim places of worship are ubiquitous in most housing estates.

As most of the worshippers are low-income earners, Uthayakumar said the area is inaccessible to a most of them.

"Thousands of youth who are currently worshippers at these six temples may go astray and get involved in crime if their local Hindu temples are displaced," read the letter.

He urged Mazalan to note that all six temples were between 60 to 100 years old and thus have been in existence even before the formation of the Petaling Jaya land office or the Shah Alam City Council.

He warned that ignoring the needs of the affected Hindu communities was in violation of Article 8 of the Federal Constitution which guarantees equality before the law.

The temples meanwhile, have a right to exist and operate by virtue of Article 11 of the Federal Constitution which safeguards freedom of religion.

"In the circumstances, your aforesaid notice (for the temples) to relocate or vacate (their present premises) is void, unlawful and ultra vires (beyond the power of) the Federal Constitution," summed up the letter.

While earlier this year saw rampant demolition of Hindu temples which were deemed 'illegal' despite many of them being 50 to 100 years old, there has been a surge of complaints regarding temples being forced to relocate to unsuitable locations.