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The 150-year-old Sri Maha Mariamman Temple in Shah Alam is unable to find itself a new home!

As if that is not enough, it has even been accorded a humiliating cow-head treatment!

The existence of Sri Maha Mariamman Temple far predates the city of Shah Alam itself.

While Shah Alam is a young child in his adolescence, this temple is a time-honoured old man.

When Indians came to Selangor, and cleared the forests for rubber plantation, they erected this institution of worship.

The temple has gone past the century-old plantation history, witnessing the drastic changes taking place in the Indian community from the colonial times up till this day.

It is itself the embodiment of history, or in a more popular jargon, some sort of "cultural legacy."

As for Shah Alam, it is but a young city evolving into its current form only during the past three decades. When housing tracts take up the lands for rubber estates, inhabitants throng in from all over the place to occupy them.

Houses and inhabitants are all newcomers!

When people stare at the Sri Maha Mariamman Temple, they find it incongruous and shouldn't be part of Shah Alam.

It must be relocated, far away from people's vision if possible!

The temple controversy should not be one on whether "a Hindu temple should be allowed to exist in a predominantly Muslim community," but rather the mindset and bosom of the people: whether there is a place in their hearts to accommodate an old temple!

The most famous ruin in Indonesia is Borobudur in Jogyakarta, Central Java, which is also one of the best preserved Hindu ruins in Southeast Asia.

Despite its location in predominantly Muslim Central Java, Borobudur has never been served with a relocation order merely because of its Hindu attributes.

It has become part and parcel of Indonesia's history and culture.

Today, the Indonesian government spares no efforts in protecting the relic, while local residents take great pride in its existence.

Buddhist and Hindu devotees the world over have flocked into Borobudur, along with huge masses of tourists, but local residents never complain of traffic congestion or inconvenience caused by the influx.

On the contrary, they have made good money hawking their stuff to the visitors!

The residents of Shah Alam's Section 19 want the Sri Maha Mariamman Temple relocated because 90% of local residents are Muslims.

And the residents of Section 23 do not want the temple there, as the place is also overwhelmingly Muslim.

Determination of relocation or construction sites for religious institutions based on ethnic ratios is never a good way of doing things. Whichever site you have selected, you are bound to make someone unhappy!

The community fabric of Malaysia is reticular in nature, more so in urban areas. It is absolutely impossible to segment the society on community and religious lines. Any forced manoeuvre will only entrench the existing social division and spawn greater conflicts.

The key lies in whether there is a place in our hearts to accommodate just a small temple. (By TAY TIAN YAN/Translated by DOMINIC LOH/Sin Chew Daily)
MySinchew 2009.09.08