Police advise against tonight's 'illegal houses of worship' rally

Police have not allowed the organisers of an upcoming rally against "illegal" houses of worship to proceed with the event.

Kuala Lumpur police chief Fadil Marsus said the decision was made after careful consideration and security intelligence assessments, as well as authorities' expectation that the assembly could cause harm to the public.

"Independent information was also obtained indicating the possibility of a breach of peace and security threats to the community around the rally location, which is expected to be crowded with members of the public shopping in conjunction with several festive celebrations," he added in a statement today.

He also advised the public against attending the assembly, warning that firm action will be taken against any party attempting to incite disorder or disrupt public safety at the location concerned.

"The police will ensure that public safety and wellbeing are prioritised," Fadil (above) said.

He also noted that police had received letters of objection from owners of business premises around the rally's proposed location yesterday, with the letters expressing concerns over the safety of their customers.

The rally was initially scheduled to take place tonight outside the Sogo shopping complex in Kuala Lumpur.

When contacted, Anti-Illegal Houses of Worship Movement coordinator Zamri Vinoth affirmed that the rally will proceed as planned.

"The police have no power to prevent (the protest) - their job is to protect safety, not block assemblies.

"They cannot abuse their power," Zamri briefly told Malaysiakini.

The protest is said to involve about 141 NGOs demanding enforcement action against places of worship built without approval.

Zamri's insistence on pushing ahead with the event comes despite the Home Ministry earlier urging the public against holding any assemblies during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's official visit this weekend.

While the ministry did not single out a particular rally, the date coincides with a planned protest tonight against “illegal” places of worship – a cause that often affects Hindu temples.

A counter-demonstration, which was initially planned for Sunday at India Gate in Brickfields, has since been postponed to a later date.

Zamri had earlier denied that tonight's protest had anything to do with Modi’s visit, and the dates were merely a coincidence.

Greater responsibility, awareness

Echoing previous condemnations of the upcoming rally, PKR lawmaker Lee Chean Chung highlighted that the right to assemble could be exercised with greater responsibility and awareness of broader national implications.

"Holding a protest at a moment of high-level diplomatic engagement risks projecting domestic religious matters onto the international stage and creating avoidable tensions," he said in a Facebook post today.

He also acknowledged that Hindu temples situated on unregistered or government land are a long-standing issue that has unique historical and social causes.

The Petaling Jaya MP also proposed several immediate actions to address the matter, including establishing a state-level mediation platform involving authorities, landowners, and temple representatives.

He also put forth establishing clear and transparent relocation guidelines, including notice periods, alternative site allocation, clear ownership of legal entity, and compensation frameworks.

Such a measure, he added, could be coupled with efforts to conduct a comprehensive land audit to regularise longstanding houses of worship where feasible, while requiring developers to proactively resolve existing religious site issues during project approvals.

Ethnic tension

Expressing similar sentiments, DAP Youth also urged authorities to take action against the rally's organisers for inciting racial disharmony.

DAP Youth chief Woo Kah Leong said that while the party's youth wing continues to defend the right of Malaysians to express themselves and to participate in assemblies, the organisation of such rallies that are racial and religious in nature only invites ethnic tension and triggers social division.

He argued that such protests also ignore the fact that many temples and places of worship in the nation have existed for hundreds of years, long before modern land laws and urban planning acts came into being.

"Narratives that label these sacred places as 'illegal' carry dangerous connotations and create a false narrative as if their existence is illegitimate and should be eradicated.

"...land status or building approval is an administrative and governance issue. Therefore, such matters should be addressed through negotiations and rational solutions, rather than provocative terms and narratives that offend Hindus," he added.

As such, the Pasir Bedamar assemblyperson cautioned that the organisation of rallies intended to spark controversy and social tension is not a solution, but will only worsen the situation and increase prejudice, ultimately harming ethnic unity.

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