Malaysian authorities have demolished a century-old Hindu temple in Kuala Lumpur on April 21, while bulldozing the building the devotees cried and begged them to stop.
The Malaimel Sri Selva Kaliamman Temple was reduced to rubble after Kuala Lumpur'scity hall sent in bulldozers, said Hindu groups.
In a complaint to police the temple'svice president, Subramaniam Ragappan, said about 300 devotees were praying Tuesday when the machines arrived, accompanied by police and city hall officials.
?We were forced to stop our prayers and (rituals) halfway as they proceeded to tear down the temple,? he said in a copy of the complaint obtained by AFP.
A copy of a letter from city hall to a local lawmaker, who had asked for the temple to be left intact, said the demolition was going ahead to make way for a building project.
City hall officials were not immediately available for comment.
Subramaniam said city hall tried in 2001 and again in 2004 to tear down the building, which was on government land, but had been dissuaded by politicians.
?Everybody was crying and saying how could the government do this, but they still broke the temple,? he told AFP.
?For 100 years we prayed there. How could they come to remove the temple?? he said, adding that they were given just one day'snotice of the demolition.
