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Thursday, July 17, 2014

Temple founder 'sad' as huge statue taken down


A Nezha deity statue standing more than 10 metres tall at a temple in Kampung Tembioh, Johor, was taken down yesterday, after concerns raised by Kota Tinggi Umno Youth.

Kota Tinggi Umno Youth reportedly said it was due to the temple's proximity to a surau located 50 metres away.

"We are saddened by the fact that we have to take down the statue," said temple founder Koh Chin Kok, 53.

"We went to Quanzhou, China, thrice to order the statue and had it shipped in two containers back to Kota Tinggi.

"It cost us about RM500,000," Koh told Malaysiakini.

However, Koh was not willing to comment on Kota Tinggi Umno Youth's views, for fear that it would turn into a racial issue.

He also admitted that the temple did not apply for approval from the local authorities.

"We plan to submit an application to the local authority to have the statue rebuilt," he said.

The Kampong Tembioh temple was first built in 1947 and reconstructed in 2002.

The temple raised funds to build the stone statue early this year and completed construction last month.

Stop work order issued

It was reported that the division Umno Youth lodged a police report last month after a photo of the statue went viral online.

The Kota Tinggi district officer reportedly served the temple with two stop-work notices under Section 128 of the National Land Code.

The local authority further claimed that the temple had breached Section 133 of the Street, Drainage and Building Act 1974.

Bernama reported that prior to this, Kota Tinggi district officer Mohd Noorazam Osman said the temple management had agreed for the statue to be taken down following an audience with the Sultan of Johor.

The demolition of the 38-tonne statute started yesterday and took three hours to complete.

It was broken down to six pieces and loaded onto three trucks.

The Nezha is a Taoist protection deity, according to Chinese mythology and is a popular deity among Chinese Malaysians.

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