Building a Mosque Is Not the Real Issue – Tan Sri Vickneswaran
KUALA LUMPUR, March 23 – Tan Sri Vickneswaran has questioned the actions of the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL), which had long been aware of the issues surrounding the Dewi Sri Pathrakaliamman Temple but still proceeded with the sale of the land without resolving the temple’s internal matters first.
He emphasized that selling the land to another party without discussions with the temple committee was highly inappropriate. Even more shocking, the land purchased by Jakel already had a 130-year-old temple, raising concerns about the transparency of the purchase process.
“How can land that clearly has a temple be sold without considering its historical and communal significance? This is the main question DBKL must answer,” said Tan Sri Vickneswaran during a press conference today.
He also criticized certain parties for trying to divert public attention by linking this issue to the construction of a mosque. According to him, the mosque is not the real issue; rather, the key concern is why land known to house a place of worship was suddenly sold without proper discussions.
Tan Sri Vickneswaran stressed that both DBKL and the buyer, in this case, Jakel, were fully aware of the temple’s existence from the start. Therefore, he is demanding an explanation as to why the sale was carried out so hastily without formal negotiations with the temple committee.
“Before selling this land, DBKL should have first engaged in discussions with the temple committee. If there was a need to build a mosque, it should not have been done at the expense of a temple that has stood for over 130 years,” he asserted.