Duo says S&P of Jakel's land purchase from DBKL will clear the air on status of Hindu temple

Two activist lawyers have called on the government to make public details of the 2014 sale of a plot of land in the heart of Kuala Lumpur to a private company, as a 130-year-old Hindu temple located on the site comes under increasing pressure from ruling politicians to relocate, including Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who claimed the temple was illegal.

Ambiga Sreenevasan and N Surendran were referring to the sale and purchase agreement dated May 12, 2014 between the Kuala Lumpur mayor and Jakel Trading, the textile company which is planning to build a mosque to be named after Pakatan Harapan's political slogan "Madani".

"We have good grounds to believe that the release of the sale and purchase agreement may substantially assist towards achieving a resolution of the current situation, in addition to ensuring public accountability and transparency in regards to the sale of government land to a private entity," the duo said in a statement.

The Dewi Sri Pathrakaliamman Temple, located just across the Jakel Mall near Jalan Masjid India, was originally built in 1893 but was ordered by Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur (DBKL) to relocate to the current lot.

The government land transferred ownership to Jakel in 2014 following DBKL's decision to sell the land to the company.

The temple committee said it had not been consulted about the sale, as well as offered to purchase the land, although it had been given permission to rebuild the temple on the site.

Jakel said that it has been negotiating for several years to relocate the temple.

The status of the land sparked public interest after MalaysiaNow revealed that Anwar will attend a groundbreaking ceremony this Friday for the construction of "Masjid Madani", in what many see as the prime minister appealing to Malay Muslims, whose support for his coalition government has remained elusive since coming to power more than two years ago.

Even then, Jakel said the ceremony was only symbolic and there were no immediate plans to build the mosque.

Reacting to MalaysiaNow's report last week, both DBKL and Jakel said it would keep negotiations open and promised not to evict or demolish the temple.

The company is also reportedly considering a proposal  to build the mosque next to the temple so that both places of worship can co-exist as a symbol of Malaysia's harmony.

Anwar has since confirmed that the ceremony will take place, but rights lawyer Zaid Malek criticised the move, saying negotiations between DBKL, Jakel and the temple had not yet been finalised.

"What is the rush for Anwar to carry out the groundbreaking ceremony on March 27 when the discussions between the temple and DBKL are still ongoing? Why is Anwar not prepared to give the necessary space and time for that process to be carried out?" asked Zaid.

Meanwhile, Ambiga and Surendran said they had been informed that the sale and purchase agreement "contains provisions and information relevant to the rights and status of the temple which is situated upon that land".

They called on the mayor to release the document immediately to put an end to speculations.

"This is to ensure the full facts and circumstances under which the sale was made is disclosed to the public and the relevant authorities who may be duty-bound to scrutinise it," they added.