Cremation land sale plan evokes ire

Hindus in Malaysia are protesting the move by a temple to sell part of its land meant for cremations to a developer.

Hindus in a Malaysian town are protesting the move by a Hindu temple to sell part of its land meant for cremations to a private developer.

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The Sri Selvavinayagar Temple committee in Butterworth, Penang, said on Thursday that they would sell the land meant for cremation.

"We have received the consent of the temple committee and the local community during a public meeting recently," said temple committee chairperson S Somu.

"The part of land we plan to sell is now occupied by squatters and we are looking to buy another piece somewhere else," he added.

The local Hindu community, who have formed a protest group, said they are opposed to the idea because it was the only Hindu cremation ground serving about 20,000 people in the area, The New Straits Times reported.

Somu, however, insisted that the committee would go ahead with its plans to sell the land while trying to resolve problems surrounding the issue.