Anwar: Jakel groundbreaking ceremony to proceed on temple site, new mosque needed as nearby ones crowded

Anwar: Jakel groundbreaking ceremony to proceed on temple site, new mosque needed as nearby ones crowded



The area around Dewi Sri Pathrakaliamman Temple in Jalan Munshi Abdullah nearby the Masjid India area. March 20, 2025. — Picture by Choo Choy May .

Tuesday, 25 Mar 2025 10:29 AM MYT


KUALA LUMPUR, March 25 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today confirmed that Jakel Trading Sdn Bhd’s mosque groundbreaking ceremony to proceed as scheduled despite opposition from some.

Anwar, who is also the finance minister, said a new mosque is needed for the Masjid India area other as other nearby mosques are already crowded.

“The prayer areas and mosques there are overcrowded, so a new place is needed. That is why I will proceed with laying the foundation stone for the mosque on the 27th,” he said in his speech at the 218th Police Day Celebrations here.

Anwar said the government is supporting the relocation, with Jakel Trading providing compensation for the move.

He also said that the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) is also offering the new site as a goodwill gesture.

The prime minister stressed that Malaysians must abide by the law that governs the country.



Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim speaks during the 218th Police Day Parade at the Police Training Centre (Pulapol) in Kuala Lumpur March 25, 2025. — Picture by Yusof Mat Isa



“In order to maintain harmony between communities, we sometimes do things that are not necessarily required, such as negotiating in good faith.

“Because for them, that place is one of faith and religious practice, it must be relocated properly. There was never any thought or discussion about demolishing it, but that has become the narrative,” he said.

The groundbreaking ceremony is scheduled this Thursday, amid public debate over the relocation of Dewi Sri Pathrakaliamman Temple which is accused of squatting on the land.

DBKL previously confirmed that the temple will be relocated to another site agreeable to parties involved, following a proposal by landowner Jakel Trading Sdn Bhd to build a mosque on its land.

Jakel Trading bought the plot in question from DBKL in 2014, allegedly without the temple management being informed of the matter.

Lawyers Datuk Ambiga Sreneevasan, and N. Surendran and Zaid Malek from Lawyers for Liberty — who are backing the temple — have previously questioned the hastiness of the groundbreaking ceremony and demanded that sales and purchase agreement of the land be made public.

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