Press Statement
PM Anwar & the Govt must break silence and speak out against irresponsible and inflammatory “kuil haram” campaign on social media by certain groups
19 April 2025
It is public knowledge that there has been an unhealthy and dangerous trend on social media lately promoting hostility towards Hindu temples by dubbing them as “kuil haram”. Most of this hostility is coming from one ethnic group, which is a disturbing trend and a matter for serious concern.
At the outset, we must say that there is no such thing as a place of worship that is “haram”. There may be disputes on the land on which a place of worship is situated; but no place where people gather to worship can or should ever be branded as “haram”.
Most recently, there has been a viral Facebook video of a Malay man harassing a worshipper who was performing a religious rite at a small temple in Klang. The man alleged that the temple was “illegally built” and even encouraged others to carry out similar acts at other places of worship.
This video was posted on a group on social media that is purportedly against the erection of structures on government land without permission; yet the posts in the group overwhelmingly targets temples and, in the process, blatantly insults the worshippers of the Hindu religion. This is clearly indicative that the overt concern over legality of the temples merely serves as a smokescreen to sow hatred of minorities and their right to practice their religion. If the legitimacy concerns were genuine, then why does the discourse on “illegal structures” centre almost exclusively on Hindu temple sites?
To deny that discourse on the issue is tainted with growing racial and religious intolerance would be a folly and at worst, an act of complicity.
The current government has failed to address the increasing intolerance and has only exacerbated the sentiment. PM Anwar Ibrahim bears substantial responsibility for this. In the recent issue regarding the temple at Masjid India, Anwar was the first to publicly proclaim that the temple was “not legal”. This language has been picked up by some sections of the public, and the harsh word “haram” has been since widely used in social media.
It is highly regrettable that Anwar has yet to retract the usage of the term “illegal” to describe a place of worship, despite the consequences his usage of the word has had.
Anwar also framed the issue as a conflict of religion between the majority and the minority, warning the people from viewing the Muslims as weak and later claiming the successful negotiation of the temple’s relocation as a “victory” for Islam.
In his fervour to position himself as the champion of Islam for political gain among the Malay-Muslim majority, he has created further division within the Malaysian society by “othering” the religious minorities. It is no wonder that certain members of the public are now emboldened to openly sprout vitriol on temples across the country. If this continues unabated, acts of misplaced vigilantism such as the one made in the viral video would become commonplace. What is the PM and government doing about this?
It is not too late for the government to change course and correct its mistake, but it must come from an understanding that the government should serve all equally without favour. Article 11 of the Federal Constitution protects the freedom of religion of everyone in Malaysia. In order for the government to ensure that right remains protected, they must not pander to cheap rhetorics for political gain for the sake of securing the votes of a segment of society to the detriment of others.
We urge as follows:
- a) that PM Anwar Ibrahim immediately retract his usage of the word “illegal” to describe any place of worship on disputed land;
- b) that PM Anwar Ibrahim and the Government publicly declare that no place of worship in Malaysia must be declared “haram” even if there are disputes on the land;
- c) that the Government take all necessary measures to counter the social media campaign by irresponsible groups upon alleged “kuil haram”, which has the potential to create ill-will in our multi-racial nation.
Issued by:
Zaid Malek
Director
Lawyers for Liberty