By Siti Rohaizah Zainal
PETALING JAYA, Jan 26 — Operations to demolish illegally built houses of worship in Petaling Jaya are carried out only after approval is obtained from the Special Committee on Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Sikh and Taoist Affairs (LIMAS).
Petaling Jaya mayor Dato’ Mohamad Zahri Samingon said the demolition operations also involve several agencies, including the land and district office.
“Once an illegal structure is detected, we will submit a report to LIMAS before any action is taken. Whether the structure is small or large, we refer it to LIMAS so that any enforcement action taken is in line with the committee’s decision, which represents the state government’s position.
“At present, we have detected houses of worship built on Islamic cemetery land. In such cases, LIMAS has decided that demolition action should be taken, and we will carry it out together with the land and district office,” he said yesterday.
Speaking after the appointment ceremony of the Petaling Jaya Children’s Council members for the 2026/2027 term, Mohamad Zahri stressed that all parties must cooperate and refrain from opposing decisions that have been made.
On January 20, Selangor Islamic Religious Department (JAIS) director Dato’ Mohd Shahzihan Ahmad said March 31 had been set as the deadline for vacating gazetted Islamic cemetery land in PJS 4, Petaling Jaya, following reports of encroachment that went viral on social media.
He stressed that the land in question is not waqf land as claimed, but gazetted Islamic burial ground under the jurisdiction of JAIS.
According to him, site regularisation work has already begun through cooperation between the Petaling Jaya District and Land Office, the local authority and relevant enforcement agencies.
He added that the Petaling Jaya District and Land Office, together with JAIS, will lead enforcement operations if the eviction order is not complied with.
Last year, during Deepavali celebrations, Selangor executive councillor for poverty eradication Papparaidu Veraman reminded all parties to stop building temples illegally, noting that the state government has approved many such constructions.
He said the state government also continues to provide various forms of assistance to temples to ensure that houses of worship are properly maintained and able to carry out religious activities effectively.
“The state government has approved many temple constructions and allocated funds to existing houses of worship. Selangor already has many temples; there is no need to build them illegally as the government has approved many.
“For example, traders sometimes build small temples to protect their businesses on government or departmental land. We should be protecting temples, not the other way around. I urge that this not be repeated. There is no need to illegally build temples on government land,” he said.
