PUTRAJAYA: The demonstration against the construction of a Hindu temple in Shah Alam, which has threatened to drive a wedge between the Muslim and Hindu communities, could have been averted if only the Selangor government had engaged the people in its agenda.
Saddened that the issue had escalated following the protesters' use of a cow head, Barisan Nasional leaders felt that the state should not be bulldozing through its plan.
Rather, it should conduct dialogues with the rakyat, especially when it concerned sensitive matters.
Selangor Federal Action Committee chairman Datuk Noh Omar said he recently had a session with the disgruntled Muslim community who had objected to the proposed relocation of Sri Mahamariamman Temple in Section 19 to their predominantly Muslim neighbourhood.
Noh, who is also Selangor Umno deputy chief, said he had urged the group to take up their case using legal channels, after they expressed their disappointment that neither the state government nor their elected representatives had bothered to hear them out.
"When I met them, things were still under control, although they were riled up and angry.
"They were just hoping that somebody in authority would take time to discuss the matter with them and not sideline them altogether.
"These people respect the principles of religious freedom and are not against the construction of any temple, they just felt that the location was unsuitable," he said, adding that the group submitted a memorandum signed by 400 people to appeal their case to the prime minister (Datuk Seri Najib Razak) through him during the meeting.
People's Progressive Party president Datuk M. Kayveas said the Selangor government must take full responsibility for the incident, which he said deeply hurt Hindus in the country.
He said as the state's administrators, the onus was on them to prevent such a huge threat to unity when protesters were driven to use the head of a cow, an animal sacred to the Hindus.
"Now you have allowed this to happen, what would the different races do in future when they object to the construction of other houses of worship?
"Even if they say they didn't mean to disrespect Hindus and merely wanted to imply that the attitude of the state government was akin to an animal, using the sacred cow is not tolerable," Kayveas said.
Wanita MCA chief Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun said the state government should have intervened fast to prevent the issue from escalating.
"If they had taken the right approaches like sitting down to iron out the problems, this could have been avoided.
"Everybody can express their views but they need to respect each other.
"There are bound to be disagreements and disapproval in a multi-racial country like ours but it all boils down to how well you manage a crisis to avert massive repercussions," she said.
Sementa assemblyman Datuk Abdul Rahman Palil said the issue arose due to the failure of the state government in getting the opinions of the residents.
"What happened now is that the state government made a decision without discussing the matter first with the residents from various aspects, in terms of safety and the community's needs and preferences.
"We respect other religions but religious sensitivities must be taken into account," he said, adding that the Special Committee for Places of Worship other than Islam in Selangor should not be chaired by politicians to prevent biased decisions from being made.
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