KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 11 — The Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism (MCCBCHST) has called on Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to clarify his statement directing local councils to “clean up” areas where houses of worship were built without approval.
In a statement, the council cited a Free Malaysia Today report on February 9, in which Anwar said enforcement must be carried out in accordance with the law and that local councils must ensure unauthorised places of worship do not continue to operate.
MCCBCHST said the prime minister’s statement appeared overly general, potentially applying to all non-compliant places of worship, including those built decades ago.
The council highlighted that many temples and other houses of worship were established during the colonial era, before Malaya gained independence in 1957.
At that time, there were no local councils or the National Land Code, which was only passed in 1965. MCCBCHST said categorising these historic places of worship — some over 100 years old — as “illegal” is arbitrary and unjust, especially since they were built with the tacit approval of British authorities.
MCCBCHST also noted that guidelines issued by the Selangor state government in 2008 allowed places of worship older than 100 years to remain in their original locations.
These guidelines, the council said, were later adopted by other states, and the Cabinet had stated that no decades-old place of worship should be demolished without consultation with authorities and the provision of a suitable alternative site.
The council urged the prime minister to clarify whether his directive includes places of worship established before independence and to specify how existing policies protecting historic sites would be upheld.
MCCBCHST warned that the current wording of the statement could encourage individuals to stir racial and religious tensions by calling for demolitions.
It also called on state governments to review restrictive land allocation policies for non-Muslim houses of worship, noting that some decades-old temples and gurudwaras have repeatedly applied for land allocation but were consistently rejected.
“This will reduce the construction of unauthorised places of worship and ensure equitable treatment,” the council said.
The MCCBCHST urged the government to adhere to its election pledges and policies regarding relocations, stressing that lawful access to land would prevent the need for building without approval.
The statement was signed by its president Venerable Seck Chaio Ying, deputy president Bishop Dr T Jeyakumar, and other office‑bearers representing the Malaysian Buddhist Association, Christian Federation of Malaysia, Federation of Taoist Associations Malaysia, Malaysian Gurdwaras Council and Malaysia Hindu Sangam.
