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ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal

15 June 2006
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UA-189-2006: MALAYSIA: State orchestrated destruction of Hindu temples

MALAYSIA: Violation of freedom of religion; violation of equality before the law; defiling a place of worship; police misconduct; threat and intimidation; collapse of rule of law
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has come to learn of several cases involving the demolition or at least partial damage of Hindu temples in Malaysia following orders by government authorities. Furthermore, in addition to such acts, which are a violation of domestic laws, those ordered to carry out the destruction have used force and caused injuries to the devotees of the temples.

Over the past 15 years thousands of ancient and pre-independent Hindu temples have been unlawfully "cleansed" by the State and local authorities. This had primarily gone unnoticed due to the fact that the caretakers of these temples are mainly downtrodden, poor, uneducated, ignorant and defenseless citizens of the Indian community within Malaysia.

The latest incident happened on 12 June 2006 where a 110-year-old temple's three Hindu deities were smashed to pieces and destroyed with sledge hammers right before the devotee's eyes. This was done by the Shah Alam Mayor, his enforcement team, Shah Alam police and an unknown group of Malay Muslims. The demolition of the ancient Malaimel Sri Selva Kaliaamman Temple on 17 April 2006 is another recent example of the ruthless, barbaric and unlawful act of top officers of the Government.

By virtue of the government’s unwillingness to intervene, the key perpetrators of these crimes, the Mayor of Kuala Lumpur and Shah Alam City Hall and the Royal Police Force have now gained momentum and strength and have gone on to commit further offenses as evident with the demolishment of the Om Sri Balakrishna Muniswarar Temple located in Setapak on 8 June 2006. This temple, despite being located on private land, was acquired for development purposes and demolished to pave way for a highway project. Simple government intervention would have prevented this from occurring, but this was not done. Evidently, the government failed to intervene in order to aid a private developer pursuing commercial interests. Furthermore, and of greater significance, the government failed to intervene in order to belittle the Hindu worshipers who used the temple, as alternative arrangements have been made in similar circumstances where Muslim followers were involved.

A total of 30 cases against the police were immediately lodged by the devotees of the temple after the rampage caused by at least 200 members of the Enforcement Divisions of DBKL and MBSA backed by the Royal Malaysian Police Force and unknown Malay Muslim groups. These forces were also accompanied by a mysterious group of Indian gangsters who arrived at the temple with the police team from Setapak.

During the rampage, legal adviser and human rights defender, Mr. P Uthayakumar was assaulted during arrest and was almost killed as a result of the violent conduct displayed by the Enforcement Officers. He was also warned while in the detention of the Sentul police station that he would be attacked at gunpoint and may come to harm should he continue in his activities regarding the temple.

In addition to the treatment of Mr. Uthayakumar, during the rampage an elderly woman was pulled along by her hair then thrown to the ground, a pregnant woman was knocked unconscious, a seven-year-old child was thrown into the air with force and another elderly woman sustained a fractured hand.

Such state sponsored crime is a violation of various domestic laws: Article 8 of the Federal Constitution (Equality before the law); Article 11 of the Federal Constitution (Freedom of Religion); Section 295 of the Penal Code (Defiling a place of worship); and Section 298A of the Penal Code (Causing racial disharmony and hatred). Under Article 145 of the Federal Constitution the Attorney General of Malaysia is the person entrusted by His Royal Highness the Yang Dipertuan Agong to institute criminal proceedings against any subject who has committed a crime. Evident from the above is that crimes have been committed and therefore the Attorney General must carry out his duty to pursue those who have breached the law.

SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please write to the Attorney General in Malaysia requesting his intervention in this matter. As the person responsible for instituting criminal proceedings against any subject who has commited a crime, the Attorney General must act immediately and bring justice to those who have ordered and those who have directly carried out the destruction of Hindu temples. Please send copies of your letter to the relevant authorities listed below.

Suggested letter:

Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail
Attorney General
Attorney General's Chambers of Malaysia
Level 1-8 Block C3, Parcel C
Federal Government Administrative Center
62512 Putrajaya
MALAYSIA
Tel No: +603 8885 5004, +603 8885 5000
Fax No: +603 8888 9362
Email: ag@agc.gov.my

Dear Tan Sri

MALAYSIA: State orchestrated destruction of Hindu temples

I write to voice my strong condemnation of the demolition or at least partial damage of Hindu temples in Malaysia following orders by government authorities. I have learned that in the past 15 years thousands of ancient and pre-independence Hindu temples have been unlawfully “cleansed” by State and local authorities. This has gone primarily unnoticed despite it breaching many domestic laws.

The latest incident happened on 12 June 2006 where a 110-year-old temple's three Hindu deities were smashed to pieces and destroyed with sledge hammers right before the devotee's eyes. This was done by the Shah Alam Mayor, his enforcement team, Shah Alam police and an unknown group of Malay Muslims. The demolition of the ancient Malaimel Sri Selva Kaliaamman Temple on 17 April 2006 is another recent example of the ruthless, barbaric and unlawful act of top officers of the Government.

By virtue of the government’s unwillingness to intervene, the key perpetrators of these crimes, the Mayor of Kuala Lumpur and Shah Alam City Hall and the Royal Police Force have now gained momentum and strength and have gone on to commit further offenses as evident with the demolishment of the Om Sri Balakrishna Muniswarar Temple located in Setapak on 8 June 2006. This temple, despite being located on private land, was acquired for development purposes and demolished to pave way for a highway project. Simple government intervention would have prevented this from occurring, but this was not done. Evidently, the government failed to intervene in order to aid a private developer pursuing commercial interests. Furthermore, and of greater significance, the government failed to intervene in order to belittle the Hindu worshipers who used the temple, as alternative arrangements have been made in similar circumstances where Muslim followers were involved.

A total of 30 cases against the police were immediately lodged by the devotees of the temple after the rampage caused by at least 200 members of the Enforcement Divisions of DBKL and MBSA backed by the Royal Malaysian Police Force and unknown Malay Muslim groups. These forces were also accompanied by a mysterious group of Indian gangsters who arrived at the temple with the police team from Setapak.

During the rampage, legal adviser and human rights defender, Mr. P Uthayakumar was assaulted while being arrested and was almost killed as a result of the violent conduct displayed by the Enforcement Officers. He was also warned while in the detention of the Sentul police station that he would be attacked at gunpoint and may come to harm should he continue in his activities regarding the temple.

In addition to the treatment of Mr. Uthayakumar, during the rampage an elderly woman was pulled along by her hair then thrown to the ground, a pregnant woman was knocked unconscious, a seven-year-old child was thrown into the air with force and another elderly woman sustained a fractured hand.

As the Attorney General of Malaysia I am sure you are well aware that such state sponsored crime is a violation of various domestic laws: Article 8 of the Federal Constitution (Equality before the law); Article 11 of the Federal Constitution (Freedom of Religion); Section 295 of the Penal Code (Defiling a place of worship); and Section 298A of the Penal Code (Causing racial disharmony and hatred). I am also sure that you are more than aware that under Article 145 of the Federal Constitution the Attorney General of Malaysia is the person entrusted by His Royal Highness the Yang Dipertuan Agong to institute criminal proceedings against any subject who has committed a crime. Evident from the above is that crimes have been committed and therefore I urge you to carry out your duty to pursue those who have breached the law.

The complete disregard and lack of respect shown to those who worship within the temples that have been damaged is entirely unacceptable. I trust that you will intervene to remedy this situation.

Yours sincerely,

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PLEASE SEND COPIES OF YOUR LETTER TO:

1. Dato' Seri Abdullah Hj. Ahmad Badawi
Prime Minister
Block D1, Parcal D, Pusat Pentadbiran Putrajaya
62502 Putrajaya, Selangor
MALAYSIA
Tel: 03-88888000/88888032
Fax: 03-88883444
E-mail: abdullah@kdn.gov.my

2. Datuk Seri Mohd Bakri Omar
Inspector General of Police
Ketua Polis Negara, Ibupejabat Polis Diraja Malaysia
Bukit Aman, 50502 Kuala Lumpur
MALAYSIA
Tel: +60 3 2262 6310
Fax: +60 3 2273 1326
Email: rmp@rmp.gov.my

3. Tan Sri Abu Talib Othman
Chairperson
Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (SUHAKAM)
29th Floor, Menara Tun Razak
Jalan Raja Laut, 50350 Kuala Lumpur
MALAYSIA
Tel: +603 2612 5600
Fax: +603 2612 5620
E-mail: humanrights@suhakam.org.my

4. Ms. Asma Jahangir
UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion
OHCHR-UNOG
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Fax: +41 22 917 9006
E-mail: freedomofreligion@ohchr.org  / urgent-action@ohchr.org

Thank you.

Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ahrchk@ahrchk.org)