KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 25 — Kuala Lumpur Archbishop Reverend Julian Leow appealed to the public today to allow the Kajang Municipal Council to demolish the remains of St Joseph’s Chapel.
According to Ecclesiastical Assistant for social communications Reverend Clarence Devadass, the decision for the demolition was a mutual one after a series of discussions between church leaders and relevant authorities, taking into account that the Kajang chapel has not been in use since the 1980s.
“The Catholic Church of the Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur has consented to plans by the Kajang Municipal Council to demolish the remains of what was once St Joseph’s Chapel in Brehma Estate,” Clarence said in a statement today.
According to news portal The Star Online yesterday, Tamil dailies had reported that parishioners had stopped a Kajang Municipal Council contractor who had gone to the site for demolition works.
The council had reportedly already issued a notice ordering its demolition on Tuesday.
Clarence said today that the chapel was originally built to cater to the needs of the Catholic estate workers at the Brehma Estate, but it has not been in use following the closure of the estate and development in the area.
He said the remains of the chapel were deemed an illegal structure on a road reserve after most of the structure had crumbled over time.
“Unfortunately, there are reports of some people attempting to prevent the demolition work by the council,” Clarence added.
“The Archbishop would like to appeal to these individuals to respect the lawful right of the council to carry out their duty and to remind everyone that the decision to demolish the unused chapel was made after due process was followed.”
He said that the decision by the Archbishop to allow the demolition of the unused chapel was previously made known to the Catholic community in Kajang over the weekend of August 20 and 21.
