KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA, March 29, 2002: The government has agreed to allow the development proposed by the management of the century-old Marathandavar Temple in Maran, said Malaysia Indian Congress president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu. He said there should be no worries as the temple on a 3.6ha site had been gazetted as a heritage site by the Pahang government. “The temple cannot be issued a land title as it is situated in a Malay reserve area,” he said. He said there was an urgent need for the development as the temple had been badly affected by the recent floods. “Photographs of the site have been shown to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad,” he said. Samy Vellu had raised the matter in the Cabinet after the Selangor Democratic Action Party had raised the temple issue during their campaigns among Indian voters for the Ketari by-election. DAP National Youth Committee member T. Kannan had alleged that the temple had not been given the land title and attempts to seek approval for development of its surroundings had been denied.
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