14 December – Kapar MP S Manikavasagam has confirmed MIC’s allegation that he had called for the resignation of Selangor Menteri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim, but insisted that the Barisan Nasional component party had “twisted” his words.
When contacted yesterday following an MIC Youth’s exposé of a video in which Manikavasagam (left) is apparently seen making the statement, the MP said he had only called on Khalid to step down if the MB failed to address the demolition of a Hindu shrine in Sepang.
“(I had said) A task force has been set up to investigate the matter further by the Selangor government, and if the menteri besar fails to penalise (the) Sepang Municipal Council (MPS) officers who had demolished the altar, then he (Khalid) should step down,” said Manikavasagam.
He also denied MIC’s claim that he had used harsh language in the video, which was in Tamil.
The issue concerned the act of around 30 MPS officers who, on Nov 20, had proceeded to demolish a Hindu shrine built within the compound of house in Bandar Baru Salak Tinggi.
Yesterday, MIC Youth chief T Mohan held a press conference revealing two video clips featuring a conversation between MIC youth leaders and Manikavasagam at the National Registration Department (NRD) in Putrajaya.
The conversation had taken place after MIC youth leaders had stopped Manikavasagam to ask his opinion on the altar demolition issue during PKR’s stateless rally on Wednesday.
MIC to rebuild altar
Mohan(right) told the press that from the conversation recorded in the video, Manikavasagam had asked Khalid to step down, and provided the media with written English transcript of the conversation.
However, the accuracy of the transcript could not be established because of the inaudibility of the clips shown during the press conference.
Manikavasagam had also claimed that the transcript was inaccurate and had omitted parts of the conversation.
Meanwhile Mohan, during the press conference, also slammed Pakatan Rakyat leaders in the Selangor government for not fulfilling their promise to not demolish any temples.
“He (Khalid) has not said anything (about the altar demolition)… If you make a mistake, then you must apologise to the people,” said Mohan.
The MIC youth leader claimed that apart from the Sepang case, the state has issued three more notices for temple demolitions in Subang Jaya and another one in Puchong.
“We will rebuild the demolished shrine (in Sepang) tomorrow and MIC is covering all the expenses for the construction,” Mohan said, adding that prayers will be conducted once the construction is completed.
