Govt did not give RM2mil in compensation to temple, says Dr Zaliha

THE Government has never promised or approved compensation to the Dewi Sri Pathrakaliamman temple in Jalan Masjid India to relocate, says Datuk Seri Dr Zaliha Mustafa.

“No other agreement or ‘deal’ was made other than the settlement that I officially announced yesterday,” the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Federal Territories) said in a media statement Wednesday (March 26).

She was refuting allegations made by digital creator Firdaus Wong Wai Hung on his social media page that the Government had provided RM2mil in compensation to the temple to relocate.

“The allegations are completely untrue and baseless,” said Dr Zaliha.

“The Government has never promised or approved any form of compensation to the temple as described,” she reiterated.

On Tuesday (March 25), Dr Zaliha had announced that the temple would be moved to a site near the original location and that the new site would be equivalent in size to its present lot.

She said this decision followed discussions with various parties, including the temple representatives.

It was also decided that the temple would continue to operate as usual until the relocation process was fully completed.

Dr Zaliha said the issue had been handled in accordance with the law as well as consideration of the sensitivities of various parties, and the construction of the mosque on privately owned land would be able to continue. She added that the project had been delayed since 2020.

She also urged all parties to stop fanning the issue, saying that “inflaming religious or racial sentiments based on unverified information, can threaten harmony and unity.”