KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 19 — The government should lift restrictions on locations for non-Muslim houses of worship if it is unable to gazette more such areas, a Chinese youth coalition said today.

Calling itself the Eight Major Chinese Youth-based Organisations (EMCO), it pointed out that the impending eviction of a church in Kepong was symptomatic of the lack of authorised locations for non-Muslim houses of worship.

“If the government is unable to provide space for the building of worship places, it should allow non-Islamic organisations to carry out religious activities in commercial centres, industrial areas and housing estates without bringing any nuisance to the community and people,” it said in a statement today.

It added that it was unfair for authorities to go after houses of worship that were operating in non-designated areas because of their insufficient provision, adding that the case in Klang was only “the tip of the iceberg.”

“Other than Christian organisations, organisations of other faiths including Buddhist (sic), Taoism, Hinduism and Sikhism are also facing similar problem,” EMCO chief coordinator Joshua Hong said in a statement today.

It added that it has also received complaints from church leaders in other states facing the same issues, leading to fines or notices of eviction.

English daily The Star reported last Wednesday that the Chinese Methodist Church Kepong has been issued with eviction notices from the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) and been given two weeks to move out, after which it would be demolished.

According to the eviction notices, the church violated the Federal Territories (Planning) Act 1982 for changing the land use from as a kindergarten to a church, without a development order.

But the church, which has an 800-strong congregation, said that it has applied to DBKL for change to the status of the land.

Many churches in the Klang Valley are based in shoplots in commercial or industrial areas as it is purportedly very difficult to obtain permission to use land for religious purposes.

The demolition of Hindu temples is also frequently in the news, owing to the tendency for some to be built in unofficial locations.