by Baradan Kuppusamy
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 29 — The Indian community is rife with talk that Kapar MP S. Manikavasagam, a vocal defender of Indian rights, has resigned as Deputy Liaison Chairman of Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) Selangor with immediate effect.
All three Tamil dailies headlined stories today reporting his resignation in protest over the demolition of the Sri Maha Kaliamman temple in Ampang Jaya last week.
His aides said he handed the resignation letter to the PKR Selangor chairman this morning. However, Mike, as he is popularly known, later issued a statement saying his resignation will take effect unless action is taken against the errant municipal officials that demolished the temple.
“I will quit as deputy chairman of the PKR Selangor liaison committee if there is no strict against taken against the Majlis Perbandaraan Ampang Jaya officials who were trained by the Barisan Nasional government and who are not professional in carrying out their duties,” he said in the statement, adding he has met the mentri besar’s officials on the matter.
Manikavasagam called for an inquiry committee to investigate the incident and take action against the officials involved, adding he also understood that the municipal council has issued notices to demolish other temples despite the orders being cancelled.
But his website had an unattributed breaking news item confirming he has resigned in protest and wants an apology from the Ampang Jaya Municipal Council for demolishing the temple, a small structure that was about 30 years old and sitting on land classified as agricultural.
Manikavasagam’s aides said he is demanding an apology from the council for breaking a promise that no temples would be demolished in Selangor without the approval of the PR-ruled state government.
In addition, his relationship with Selangor exco member Dr Xavier Jeyakumar has been heading south over this and other issues. Manikavasagam has previously claimed that Dr Xavier has failed to “defend the temples.”
Dr Xavier said last week the Ampang temple was unregistered, but did not say that was the reason it was demolished. However, Indians were infuriated by the “unregistered” remark and that is said to be one of the reasons why Manikavasagam quit today.
Dr Xavier also urged Indians to look at the bigger picture of how PKR was helping Indians and not just attack the party for “failing to defend” temples.
Manikavasagam disagrees, saying “not registered” is unacceptable as that was the excuse given by the BN government to demolish scores of temples in the state and across the country.
“The majority of Indians voted PKR to save their temples and Tamil schools. If the temples are not registered, use your power as the new government and give the necessary registration,” an aide told the Malaysian Insider.
“We voted opposition to protect our heritage, not for the new government to give us excuses,” he said.
There are over 7,000 “temples” in Selangor – from roadside shrines to the Batu Caves temple complex – and many are deemed “illegal” because they are sitting on public land, road reserves or land classified as agricultural or commercial.
