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KUALA LUMPUR: Klang MP Charles Santiago denied today that the Selangor government has not been proactive in solving the problem of Sri Maha Mariamman temple in Subang Jaya.
Santiago, who, along with several other elected representatives of Selangor, such as Xavier Jayakumar and R Sivarasa, had been tasked by the Selangor government with negotiating with the Save Seafield Task Force, said he had held a series of meetings with the leaders of the temple since solution to the problem.
The meetings were held in the office of the secretary of state, announced Santiago, but the last meeting took place last week in the cafeteria of Parliament, after which they informed the current menteri besar.
"Social media is the subject of much criticism that the Selangor government has not been proactive in addressing this problem. This is not true.
"Past and present leaders collaborated with the task force. The Selangor government is working silently, trying to find a solution with all the stakeholders, "he told reporters today.
Santiago said he and a few others had reviewed the consent judgment and had also tried to talk to the developer, One City Development Sdn Bhd.
"The solution we proposed is the Midvalley solution, in which the temple is part of the complex. It was a possible solution, coexisting with business development that worked well in the Mid Valley case.
"We proposed the idea to One City, as a way to go forward. But every time we approach the question with One City, they would say, we have a judgment on consent, let's talk to our lawyers, "he said.
By a consent judgment of 11 March 2014 in the Shah Alam High Court, four parties agreed to move the temple and return the vacant site to the owner, One City.
As part of the consent judgment, One City agreed to donate RM 1.5 million for the construction of a new temple on one of two plots given by the company. After the temple had surrendered rights to one of the two parcels of land, One City granted him another compensation of one million RM.
However, the faithful continued to resist efforts to move the temple, built in 1891.
Santiago said that when the development company was under Malaysian control, they were still arguing. However, once the company became a foreign property – Ayala Corporation, the largest conglomerate in the Philippines – there was no more discussion.
Santiago said that they had discovered that the company was under foreign ownership only a few months ago, while Selangor MB Mohamed Azmin Ali had made contact with the developer.
"What we were trying to propose was a solution where the winner does not take everything, and that they coexist.
"I think that since the developer now belongs to a foreign company, this company does not understand the sensitivity of the problem. They will always go back to the consent judgment, "he said, adding that even if the consent judgment had to be followed, it was very problematic.
"The temple has historical significance"
Santiago said that before that, the region had five huge Sime Darby rubber plantations, which would later become oil palm plantations. And in the middle, said Santiago, there were about 16 temples.
Since then, said Santiago, all the temples were demolished and the workers expelled, leaving no mention to the Indian workers who had been working there for centuries.
"That's why the temple is historically significant. A Malaysian developer would have understood the dynamics. But now it belongs to foreigners and therefore does not understand the dynamics.
"The lesson from this experience is that local sensitivities must be integrated into the business plan. Not just corporate social responsibility.
"Otherwise, the mess of a few days ago would not have occurred," he said.
If the problem occurred after the takeover of the Philippine conglomerate, Santiago said that it became more difficult.
But he said that the matter would be resolved shortly, although he did not develop any details about it except that there were some youth problems to be solved.
Around 2 am on Monday, two groups of people were involved in a temple dispute following the proposed temple move. Several people were injured and 18 cars and two motorcycles were burned.
As a result of the incident, the police arrested 21 people to facilitate investigations.
Earlier yesterday morning, further violence saw several vehicles burned on the side of the road. A fire and rescue vehicle was also damaged and a firefighter was injured.
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