KUALA LUMPUR — Documents on the sale of land where a Hindu temple in the centre of an ongoing controversy is located, should be made public, lawyers representing the management committee of the Dewi Sri Pathrakaliamman Temple in Jalan Masjid India here said.
Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan and N Surendran said the sales and purchase agreement (SPA) for the land between Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) and a private company should be disclosed, as they believe it contains information “relevant to the rights and status of the temple”.
“It is now public knowledge that the land upon which the temple stands was sold by DBKL to a private company in 2014, without the knowledge of the temple committee.
“We ask now that the government immediately make public the Sale and Purchase Agreement dated May 12, 2014, between ‘Datuk Bandar Kuala Lumpur’ (Kuala Lumpur Mayor) and the private company for the sale of land including the temple land,” said Ambiga and Surendran in the statement.
“We are reliably informed that the sale and purchase agreement contains provisions and information relevant to the rights and status of the temple which is situated upon that land.
“This (disclosure) is to ensure the full facts and circumstances under which the sale was made is disclosed to the public and the relevant authorities who may be duty-bound to scrutinise it.”
The lawyers also said they have good grounds to believe that the release of the agreement may substantially assist towards achieving a resolution for the land dispute, as well as ensuring public accountability and transparency with regards to sale of government land to a private entity.
Their statement follows their March 20 press conference, where Ambiga reportedly said that the temple should remain at the current site. The prominent lawyer said that DBKL has a social responsibility to support the temple, which has stood on the site for more than 130 years.
The land was sold to Jakel Trading Sdn Bhd, which has plans to build a mosque on the site.
Ambiga had previously expressed hopes the temple would remain on its current site and supports an alternative proposal for Jakel Trading to acquire another vacant plot of land adjacent to the temple for it and the proposed mosque to exist side by side.
Jakel Trading, meanwhile, has said the temple will not be demolished and is working towards a “win-win” solution.
Kuala Lumpur Mayor Datuk Seri Maimunah Mohd Sharif said that the temple could continue operating as usual until a decision is made on the relocation.
Various political leaders have weighed in on the issue, urging for calm and to let discussions involving Jakel Trading and DBKL to continue. – March 24, 2025