Temples in Malaysia under threat'
[ Sunday, June 11, 2006 07:10:52 pmIANS ]


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NEW DELHI: Hindu groups in Malaysia allege that the government is demolishing temples and have appealed to Indian rights groups and the UN to help protect their heritage.

According to the Hindu groups, the latest instance was that of a 107-year-old place of worship that was razed last month in the capital, Kuala Lumpur.

The demolition has triggered angry reactions from Hindus in the Muslim-dominated country.

"At least one temple is being demolished by the authorities every three weeks in an unlawful and indiscriminate fashion, at the federal, state and local levels," said PW Moorthy, chairman of Hindu Rights Action Force, a coalition of about 50 groups.

"Most of these temples are over a century old and have existed even before we got independence. And they have the cheek to deem these temples illegal," a furious Moorthy said.

"We hope the international community will come to our rescue and act accordingly and urgently in the general interest of the public to protect the ethnic Hindu minority community in Malaysia," he added.

According to rights activists, the latest incident involved demolition of the 60-year old Muniswara temple near Jalan Ayer Madu in Setapak, northeast of Kuala Lumpur, June 8...