The unruly crowd outside the Sri Maha Mariamman temple in Subang Jaya in the wee hours today were not locals, a former temple committee chief said.
M Nagaraju added that the crowd refused to listen to instructions.
"We tried to advise them, but they refused to listen to us.
"We understand their anger, but this is not the way to react," he said.
The thousand-strong crowd had torched the wreckage of two cars and a factory, while also attacking a fire truck responding to the blaze.
Some 300 then marched to the nearby One City mall complex, and attacked the office of the developer which owns the land the temple is on.
At least one other car was also damaged by rioters.
Devotees had gathered outside the temple in USJ25 for a second night to protect it from demolition.
Yesterday, they were accosted by some 50 men according to police, leading to violent scuffles.
The temple was supposed to have been relocated on Nov 22.
Plans to relocate the temple have been ongoing since 2007, after the land it is located on was purchased by One City Development Sdn Bhd.
In 2014, a consent judgment was entered into in court, where One City and two rival camps vying for control of the temple agreed to relocate it to a plot of land three kilometres away.
One City had also donated RM1.5 million to the temple as part of the settlement agreement.
However, devotees have continued to resist efforts to relocate the temple, which was built in 1891.
Source : https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/453546
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