PM: Get approval before building
> ‘Places of worship must get nod from local authorities first, says Mahathir
PETALING JAYA: No places of worship will be allowed to be built in the future without the approval of local authorities, said Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
He said currently people have been building temples wherever they choose even on land belonging to other people.
“When it comes to removing the temple then it becomes an issue.
“To avoid this, the government has decided to pass a resolution on the matter.”
Mahathir said the state government had decided that the Sri Maha Mariamman Temple in USJ 25, Putra Heights, should remain but the issue went to court.
He said the court then decided the land belonged to the developer.
Mahathir said the government will not interfere with the decision made by the court unlike the previous government.
On the debate in Parliament on the temple yesterday, he said it was up to the Speaker to decide.
“The government has received information from various security forces, especially the police on what had exactly occurred.
“As a government we must explain what had happened,” he said at a press conference after attending the Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM) meeting yesterday.
Mahathir also urged the media to avoid or stop spreading fake news regarding the temple issue.
“If you ‘make fake news we will fake you’,” he said jokingly.
The prime minister also welcomed Bagan Serai Member of Parliament Datuk Dr Noor Azmi Ghazali who quit Umno on June 24 and whose membership into PPBM was accepted by the party.
Present was PPBM president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.