EQUAL JUSTICE for ALL Was the Contempt of Court Cited in Guan
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WHAT HAPPENE IN PENANG? An Account of the 1 Kampung Rawa Incident' by Dr Francis Loh nly a month has reported officially; nor was ~ohd Shariff Omar and the passed since the any mosque or temple or prop Penang ~IC ch1ef, Dr K temple-mosque dis erty razed to the ground. Ac Rajapathy were able to stop pute occurred in cording to official figures, a their followers from getting in Kampung Rawa, Penang, but total of 185 people were ar volved in the dispute. F1rm the situation in the state is rested 'for rioting, illegal as and impartial police action 'back to normal'. sembly and possession of dan served to contain the incident gerous weapons'. By 7 April, just as it threatened to "pread Significantly, the vast majority 146 of these had been released to other parts of the state. of Penangites went about their on bail, leaving 39 still de The Need daily lives without disruption tained. Despite a threat to use for a Public and even when the dispute peaked the Internal Security Act, the Rational Discussion during the weekend of 27-29 authorities have in fact not car March. On the evening of Sat ried out that threat. This issue of AIr, z Monthly urday, 28 March, a huge open devotes considerable -;pace to air dinner organised by the In short, the dispute was the Kampung Rawa dispute. MCA to encourage Malay shortlived, not least because ln our view, incidents like this sians to buy local products was the majority of Penangites re must be discu:-sed publicly a11d held at the Esplanade. mained mature and respon rationally. Only then can we sible. At some point, after the combat the falc;ehood and wild Penangites, incident had begun, Deputy rumours which were spread at Politicians and Pollee Prime Minister Anwar the time of the incident. Ibrahim, Chief Minister Dr The clashes which took place Koh Tsu Koon, Deputy Chief ln retrospect, the decision by resulted in several cases Minister and the authorities and the media of injuries. Contrary to .....-.:-----r.r-- -, Penang L M'\0 not to provide the public with rumours, no death was deputy ch1ef, adequate information only fu Close proximity of different houses oftvorslup had not beerr 11 pmll/.711 m /he pas/ Aliron Monthly May 1998: 18[4) Page 2 -F-1if1 i rail ' , d II' "" Stop In God's Name Equal Justice For All A Sick joke Deeply Distressed Stand Up And Be Counted 27 Judiciary Not Beyond Criticism 28 Foreign Workers 36 Review Policy On Forced Repatriations 37 16 19 ALIRAN'S HOMEPAGE 31 http:/ /www.malaysia.net/aliran Quotes 11 Printed by RP PrintBS Sdn. Bhd.. On Sale : T-Shirts With Messages 15 66, b8 &t 70 Jal•n Air lwn 38 10460 Pulau Pinmg, Motlaysia. 39 T~l : 60& • 2265546 Fax: 604 • 2271164 Published by Aliran Kesedaran Negara (AURAN) 12. Jalan PantaiAziz Ibrahim. 11900 Pulau Pinang, Malaysia. (Po~lal Address: P 0 Box1049, 10830 Pulau Pinang, Millaysia.) Tel/ Fax: 604- 6415785 Aliran Monthly May 1998: 18(4) Page 3 elled the rumour mills. Not a row of old buildings. Other Penang' s cultural and reli until the weekend of 27-28 people assume that the prob gious heritage. March were two press confer lem was caused by a failure on ences held, the first by the the part of the temple commit Even in Kampung Rawa, the Deputy Prime Minister, and tee to abide by the rules and original mosque and the origi the second by the Inspector regulations governing the con nal temple had been in exist General of Police. Until then, struction of religious building. ence for more than 30 years. the Penang Chief Minister had Only less than three years ago only issued two short press Following a meeting of 450 was a new mosque built to re statements: on 23 March he an representatives from Hindu place the old Kampung Rawa nounced that the tempJe temples and organisations, mosque, while the old Hindu 'which was built and extended held three weeks after the shrine was rebuilt as a new without permission from the Kampong Rawa incident, MIC temple in late 1997. If proxim authority and the landowner' president, Samy Vellu an ity between these two houses would be relocated with gov nounced the establishment of of worship was a problem, it ernment assistance 'to a suit a Hindu Religious Co only became so perhaps three able permanent site as soon as ordinating Council, among months ago when consecra possible', and on 25 March, other things, to 'prevent the tion ceremonies for the new when he officially identified construction of illegal temples' and enlarged temple some the new temple site and an by 'determining the regula how drew attention to its nounced that transfer of the tions which will have to be ful 'proximity' to tl1e mosque. deities to the new site would filled before a temple is built'. occur before the morning of 27 The Troublesome Bells March. To even non-partisan Presently, only about 2,000 of observers, the press state an estimated 18,000 Hindu The first 'showdown' behveen ments raised more questions temples in Malaysia are regis Hindus and Muslims in than they answered. tered with the authorities. But Kampung Rawa occurred on this large number of 'illegally 20 March when 200-250 Mus The public has not only the constructed' temples, and lims, mostly Indian Muslims, right to an open and rational thousands more places of wor confronted a group of Hindu discussion of the dispute but ship of the other religions in a youths who were ringing bells the responsibility to draw les similar situation, had not in the temple at a time coincid sons from it to ensure that ugly caused religious discord be ing with the Muslim Friday incidents like that do not recur. fore. prayers. Evidently, the temple bells had been rung during Close The proximity between differ Muslim prayers the previous Proximity? ent houses of worship, in and Friday which drew Muslim Many people, including poli of itself, had not been a prob protest, but an assurance had ticians, assume that the lem in the past. Going from been given that such would Kampong Rawa dispute re one end of Lebuh Pitt, Penang, not happen again. sulted from the 'close proxim to the other, for example, one ity' between the Sri Raja Raja comes across the Kapitan Hence some Muslims re Mathuraiveeran Hindu Kling mosque, the Sri garded the ringing of the temple and the Masjid Mariamman Hindu temple, temple bells on 20 ~farch as a Kampung Rawa. The two the Kuan Yin temple, and the provocation. In that 20 March houses of worship were hardly Anglican St George's Church. confrontation, verbal abuses 30 metres apart, although All these four famous houses and some stones were hurled, separated from each other by of worship have been part of but an attempt by the Muslim Aliron Monthly May 1998: 18(4) Page 4 crowd to rush towards the guarded by police. Rajapathy ment and thus broke the week temple was foiled by a small explained to the temple com long media blackout on the in group of policemen who mittee members and other cident. formed a human chain across devotees present that the the lane leading towards the temple had to be moved as it Protest at temple. A few of the policemen was built without the Majlis Komtar were injured but their chain Perbandaran Pulau Pinang' s Responding to the premature held long enough for four approval. The state govern action of the MPPP in sealing truckloads of FRU police to ar ment, he explained, would the temple, thereby preventing rive at the area. provide a new site for the any form of access for prayers, temple, and in the process the about 150 of the devotees and On that day, 94 people, mostly status of the temple would be other Hindu sympathisers Muslims, were arrested. The regularised. To prevent a wors staged a protest at Komtar's temple area was cordoned, ening situation, the temple Level3 concourse at about 3.00 while roadblocks were set up would also be sealed until time pm the next day (24 March). In along streets leading to the for its relocation. The discus their midst was Chong Eng, neighbourhood. Starting from sion was emotional. Ulti the DAP's Penang state assem then, rumours about what had mately, the temple committee bly representative for Batu happened in Penang quickly representatives agreed to the Lanchang (whose husband is spread, even via the internet, plans while the MIC leaders a Hindu). They demanded to which featured some wild and assured them that they would see the Chief Minister. But misinformed postings about seek permission for aarti or Chong Eng and a few others the incident. prayers to be conducted at only succeeded in meeting the least once a day. Chief Minister's political sec Relocating retary, Teng Chang Yeow, him the Temple However, less than three hours self a state assembly represen Over the next few days the after the discussion, the temple tative. Penang state government, the devotees got a shock when police, and the local temple MPPP contractors, and mosque committee mem escorted by police, bers sought a solution to the arrived and problem. promptly sealed up the temple. No On Monday morning, 23 doorway was con March, a critical meeting was structed, denying held in Komtar attended by access to the temple the Chief Minister, the Chief completely. The Police Officer of Penang, temple grounds Abdul Hamid Mustapha, Dr were also fenced up Oose proximity Kmnpung Rawa mosque (right) and Rajapathy, representatives of completely.