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Monday, March 20, 2006

DBKL smashed statues of Hindu gods!

If the malaysiakini report is true, then the incident is serious stuff, assuming frightening dimension of intolerant racist desecration.

A 60-year Hindu temple temple in Jalan Davis, which has some 3000 devotees, had to be moved due to the Stormwater Management and Road Tunnel Project (Smart) being earmarked for that area.

While the way the move has been managed is questionable, and the substitute land provided for the temporary placement of the temple – it still has to move at the end of the year – is a joke, what has been horrendous has been the violent desecration of the deities during the demolition of the temple.

About 3 weeks ago, 40 DBKL personnel went to the temple armed with rotans and smashed up the temple deities. After digging a hole to dump the destroyed images into, they buried the whole lot. The Hindu devotees have all been distressed and complained of the insulting action against their faith. They also noted that jewellery belonging to the temple had gone missing.

It's one thing to demolish a building whether it's a temple or some other shelter, but it's another to deliberately smash icons of worship with rotans. Such deliberate violent behaviour bespeaks an attitude of religious intolerance and racial hatred. That action had exceeded all bounds of decency and should be resoundingly condemned.

The temple lawyer M Manoharan said his client and other devotees have lodged several police reports on the incident. It's already 3 weeks, and for a serious matter with nothing heard until this Malaysiakini report, we may assume that nothing has been done to date.

Manoharan urged the Attorney-General and the Inspector-General of Police to take action against those involved in the unauthorised, unacceptable and unmitigated destruction of statues of the temple deities. He sent a letter to MIC president Samy Vellu - I am not sure what good this would do.

Another lawyer P Uthayakumar said desecrating a place of worship is a criminal offence and action must be taken. He pointed out:

“The recent caricature controversy which was deemed insulting a religion saw the government take serious action but now a temple has been broken into and there is pin-drop silence.”

Indeed, why this bloody double standard?

I have read that some years ago, some young Islamic zealots decided to smash up Hindu deities at a village called, I think, Kulai (postscript: no, it's not Kulai, but some village or town which name starts with 'K'). In that incident, the devotees heard of the planned covert attack and waited for the desecrators. The attackers had a surprise when they found that their attempted desecration turned out into a disaster.

I can’t recall how many were killed but one or two did recover to subsequently present themselves for the court hearings. A few of the temple guardians were sentenced to several years’ imprisonment for manslaughter.

I am just appalled by the reckless and criminal conduct of the DBKL staff. If the AG and police don’t take any action, it’ll be sheer blatant racial discrimination, and condoning a criminal act that is bound to create public unrest.

18 comments:

  1. I drive pass the demolished temple everyday, I have seen the protests. Sadly in Malaysia, the indians are treated as the lowest class cizitens. Hardly anybody realizes that the poorest people group in Malaysia is actually the indians and as such, they are often ignored, especially when it comes to things like this.

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  2. this happened quite some time already rite?

    as i have seen the area flattened already ...

    used to pass by that area everyday when i was still in college ... thats the only thing which was left standing back then when they cleared up the whole Jalan Davis for the project.

    hmmm i see surau invading every playing field, are those even legal?

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  3. Friends what we need a real leadership. I bet that the best of Malaysia is not involved in politics currently. We got some pseudo-politician-businessmen who are only thinking of the $$$. Plato said it best; "One of the penalties of not being involved in politics is that you will be governed by your inferiors”. I’d settle for another Onn Jaffar.
    Some friends and me we reminiscing that if he had had his way, we’d probably have overtaken Australia in terms of progressiveness and standard of living today. What a cross roads that was. As the song goes “…there’s still time to change the path you’re on”. Get involved, for all our sakes.

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  4. It all boils down to which religion you belong.One that were taught to be "tolerant, sensitive and kind' are the ones that we all have to kow tow to. Only they dictate what is offensive and what is not.If it affects them, they get very sensitive and call for severe punishment.If they 'offend' other 'people with different faith," we must learn to be sensitive blah blah.They dont seem to be able to practice what they preach.

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  6. I am afraid I cannot permit attacks against a religion on my blog. Feel free to comment on the religion's practitioners for their deviant or unreasonable behaviour, but not the religion itself. That's my non-negotiable blog policy.

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  7. koila idichavan nasamappovan

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  8. No matter how much of comments , arguments or appeals on this issue, it will stil like " blowing sanggu in deaf man ears " No one gonna take action towards it because our nation is full of these people. Nothing gonna change for the minorities in Malaysia.

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  9. Many people have got of their back-sides and voted with their feet.I did although I belong to a successful minority. I now live in Australia in a MYR$3million house overlooking the ocean with sweeping views of Centrepoint and other parts of Sydney CBD. Here I am an equal and my children go 1st class schools and are growing up as proud Australians, concerned with global warming rather than their classmate's origins, skin colour or heritage. My advice to thinking Hinuds is learn English and get away soon.

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  10. I can't really agree with the suggestion to leave the country. Why should I ? Because I'm a Hindu ? Does being a Hindu make me less Malaysian, than the majority race ?
    No way, brother !I'm here to stay.
    The Indians should learn to vote for better leaders, learn to fight for their rights as citizens; rights that were forfeited by some power-crazy Indian, during independence.
    Would the government dare do such things to the Chinese ? No way Jose ! So why are they picking on us ? Because we're not united, have an idiot for a leader (who only cares about how his hair looks), and are economically weak.
    We might be only 8%, but we have the same rights as any other Malaysian; and must demand it.
    The next time the election comes, vote for the opposition (not PAS, nor Keadilan please)and reduce the government's majority in the parliament. That'll teach them a lesson !!

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  12. I deleted just one word from posting by Anonymous (of 4:32 PM, August 10, 2007) and re-pasted same. He said...

    The entire problem lies with our very foundations. The fact that Malays who are the ruling majority can get away with doing anything just because of their skin colour and [deleted] religion. The government is not being fair, any idiot can see that but no idiot will say anything because of fear towards the ISA.

    Ask them to think, if we Hindus and other non Muslims/Malays bulldozed your mosque, how would u feel? That is exactly what we feel!

    How long do you think we will keep quiet while you destroy our places of worship? Soon, somehow or rather, someone will bring retribution and when that day comes, you will learn to regret the day you were born!

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  13. Its shocking to hear about what is going on in Malaysia these days...as a kid i was proud to be Malaysian and proud that racial harmony existed in my country. Unfortunately, that feeling didn't last long as i realized the various discriminations that existed while growing up

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  14. Has anyone noticed that for the past year, after azan (night orayers for Muslims) there is an annoucement that is aired on THR taht says something along the following line 'It is sin for Muslims to acknowledge other religions besides Islam'
    Is this something said in their religion, NO, It is said by the self made GODS i.e. the alamaks oops the ulamaks of the country.
    I've been a proud Malaysian ever since I was born, but now....

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  15. In History the Indians (and Chinese) did so much for people of Malay Peninsula and beyond.

    At this time there was religious tolerance and respect. What happened to the days when there was cohesion?

    Life seems to have changed in Malaysia, undoubtedly for the worser. An extremist, unaccepting society is no good for anyone (look at the bankrupt state of Pakistan).

    The Malaysian state is even nasty to it's majority ethnic group - the Malays. They don't have the religious rights that even the Indians and Chinese do!

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  16. i know from news facts and other stuff that malaysian government doesnt do anything for hindus hindus are treated as rubbish they are not given higher jobs but in india being a hindu country muslims are given higher posts and even president of india was once a muslim dr apj abdul kalam azad and chief minister of jammu and kashmir state of india is muslim if we have done everything for everyone then why cant they

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