Relocation of temple shelved temporarily, says Khalid

SHAH ALAM: The decision to relocate the Hindu temple in Section 19 to Section 23 has been temporarily shelved due to protests by some residents, said Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim.

He, however, said the state government is looking for more suitable sites to relocate the temple.

Earlier in the morning, Khalid had a dialogue session with residents of Section 23 to resolve the issue of the relocation of a century-old temple from Section 19 to Section 23.

He wanted to explain to the residents the reasons for the relocation and to find an amicable solution.

His explanation and that of the Shah Alam mayor Mazalan Md Noor fell on deaf ears as protesters and residents numbering some 300 constantly shouted and booed at them.

Also trying to explain to the unruly crowd were Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad, Batu Tiga state assemblyman Rodziah Ismail, and state development agency PKNS chief Othman Omar.

The dialogue session ended at about 12.30pm without any amicable solution due to the fracas.

Khalid announced that there was no final decision on the matter yet as an agreement could not be reached at the dialogue.

The dialogue was planned when residents of Section 23 here staged a protest last Friday against the Pakatan Rakyat-led government’s decision to relocate a 150-year-old temple from Section 19 to their Malay-majority area.

The protest sparked controversy when some of the participants brought along a cow’s head and left it at the gates of the state secretariat building.(TheStar)