Saravanan, Sarawasthy at each other's throats over temple demolition

Saravanan, Sarawasthy at each other's throats over temple demolition


MIC deputy president M Saravanan and PKR vice-president K Saraswathy have been trading insults and accusations following the partial demolition of a 103-year-old Hindu temple in Sentul, Kuala Lumpur.

The roots of their feud can be traced back to the time when the late MIC president S Samy Vellu and his late estranged number two S Subramaniam locked horns. Saravanan was aligned with the former while Saraswathy was in the latter’s camp.

Saravanan also defeated Saraswathy (above, right) in the last general election when she contested in his parliamentary constituency of Tapah in Perak.

Following the Dec 18 temple demolition operation, which was halted following the intervention of MIC leaders, the two have been pointing the finger at each other.

According to Saravanan, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim made a “mistake” in appointing Saraswathy as the deputy minister for national unity.

On the other hand, Saraswathy told the MIC leader to “sit by the sidelines” and not to interfere in the government’s affairs.

The two resorted to pejoratives to disparage each other while Saraswathy also cast aspersions on the wealth of MIC leaders.

In one video, Saravanan said since the person making the accusation is in power, she could initiate an investigation to determine if their wealth was ill-gotten.

Earlier this year, a developer obtained the court’s approval for the temple to relocate to facilitate the construction of an apartment complex.

Since then, the temple committee and the firm have been negotiating to reach an amicable settlement.

MIC central working committee member AK Ramalingam, who was among those present during the demolition, questioned the absence of representatives from the government.


The blame game

Saraswathy blamed Saravanan, who was the deputy federal territories minister from 2008 to 2013 and PPP’s J Loga Bala Mohan, who was in the same post from 2013-2018, for failing to resolve the matter.

“The temple issue started in 2007. Saravanan and Loga Bala failed to settle it and the matter has dragged on,” she said.

Saravanan responded that the issue started in 1997 and that when he was deputy minister, not a single temple was demolished in Kuala Lumpur.

“This temple has been demolished under the current government. So who needs to be responsible? This is not the time to play the blame game. If this is how a deputy unity minister behaves, then that is the end of the ministry,” he added.

In a subsequent press conference on Dec 20, Saraswathy accused MIC of boycotting the Madani government.

“This is my final warning to MIC to stop boycotting the government. I am telling them to sit by the sidelines and not to poke their noses into the government’s affairs,” said the senator.

In a video yesterday, Saravanan said MIC agreed to work with the government following Anwar’s invitation.

“Saraswathy has asked us to sit on the sidelines. This is because she is a ‘sideline’ leader. Previously, she was with MIC and where there were no opportunities for her (to advance) in MIC, she switched to PKR.

“She became a PKR vice-president and deputy minister because of the efforts of others, not because she won in the party elections or general elections,” he added.


‘Don’t blame others’

Meanwhile, an aide to former deputy federal territories minister Edmund Santhara entered the fray by pointing out no temples were demolished when Perikatan Nasional was in power.

The Malaysian Indian People’s Party (MIPP), also seeking to join PN, blamed the current government for the demolition.

“Don’t blame others for your shortcomings. The temple has been demolished. What happens next, that is important.

“Why is the Federal Territories Minister (Dr Zaliha Mustafa) silent about this incident? Why should an Indian deputy minister make the statement on behalf of the government?

“Is this not a government for all races?” asked the party’s deputy president S Subramaniam in a veiled jab over the recent cabinet reshuffle which saw the dropping of the sole Tamil minister V Sivakumar.