KUALA SELANGOR, Feb 10 — Selangor will continue managing illegal houses of worship under a structured system that has been used for the past 15 years, combining law enforcement with dispute mediation, said Menteri Besar Dato’ Seri Amirudin Shari.
He said the state has long maintained a formal system through state committees to regulate unlicensed places of worship while ensuring religious harmony.
“In Selangor, we have a system that was previously called RIBI (non-Islamic houses of worship), and now known as LIMAS (State Special Committee on Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Sikh, and Tao Religions).
"Over the past 15 years, we have not only allowed houses of worship to operate in suitable and legal locations, but have also taken action to demolish or dispose of houses of worship that were built irregularly. This is a continuous effort,” he told the media after attending the large-scale Bestari Solar PV project groundbreaking ceremony at Bestari Jaya today.
Amirudin was responding to queries for comments on Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar’s remarks yesterday, who said that the Federal government has granted local councils the authority to “clean up” illegally-constructed houses of worship.
He said that firm action would be taken against the construction of temples that violate existing laws, including those built on privately owned land.
The Menteri Besar added that the state will continue to act as a coordinator and mediator, ensuring all decisions are fair and peaceful.
“What the Prime Minister mentioned will certainly speed up the process, with local authorities taking a more active role in handling the issue. More importantly, this will be done in accordance with the law,” he said.
In cases of illegally built houses of worship, the local authorities will review the land’s ownership, zoning classification, and impact on nearby residential areas before reaching a final decision.
Recently, there have been controversies surrounding the encroachment of several non-Muslim houses of worship, including in Selangor, with one of the cases involving three temples that were illegally built on Islamic cemetery land in PJS 4, Petaling Jaya.
The Selangor Islamic Religious Department (JAIS) has given the parties involved until March 31 to vacate the gazetted site or face enforcement action.
Another case involved the illegal construction of a house of worship on private land in Dengkil, Sepang, which was also found to have used an unauthorised electricity connection from a nearby billboard.
