On eve of Ponggal, KL Hindu temple told to vacate in 7 days or face eviction

As Hindus celebrate Ponggal this week, a pre-Merdeka era temple in Kuala Lumpur which was at the centre of a massive dispute last year has been given notice to vacate or prepare to be evicted, MalaysiaNow has learnt.

Landowner Jakel, the textile company which had controversially announced the construction of a mosque to be named after Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's political slogan "Madani" on the site, has given the Dewi Sri Pathrakaliamman Temple, located just across Jakel Mall in the busy Jalan Masjid India area, seven days to move to vacate the land. The letter was issued on Jan 13, 2026, on the eve of the four-day Ponggal festival. 

The company said this was to allow it to "proceed with early commencement of site activities" following approval from Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur (DBKL) to begin construction.

The temple land dispute erupted in March last year after it was reported that Anwar would officiate at a groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of "Masjid Madani" on the same site.

At the centre of the dispute is the fact that the land on which the temple is located was sold by the government to Jakel, despite the temple's existence being facilitated by DBKL over the decades, including instructing it to be rebuilt in 2008 to allow the construction of an access road.

After the sale of the land to Jakel in 2014, DBKL gave the temple an ultimatum to move to an alternative site in Sungai Buloh, which would take it away from the large community of worshippers the temple served.

The temple has firmly rejected accusations that it is occupying the land illegally, citing its hundred year history and assurances given by successive governments and ministers. 

In the midst of the storm, Anwar went ahead and officiated the groundbreaking event for the construction of the mosque named after his government's slogan.

The dispute was resolved on the eve of the groundbreaking ceremony, following negotiations involving Jakel and then minister in charge of federal territories, Dr Zaleha Mustafa, and it was agreed that the temple would be given a new plot of land about 50m away.

In addition, Zaleha in her capacity as the FT minister gave the government’s commitment to the temple committee by a letter dated March 25, 2025, that the temple was not required to move "until arrangements for relocation to the new site are completed".

In its letter this week, Jakel warned that it would seek to evict the temple if it did not vacate by Jan 20.

"Please be advised that failure to comply with this request will leave us with no alternative but to withdraw our goodwill offer and to take all necessary legal options to enforce our rights as the lawful landowner, including but not limited to initiating legal proceedings for eviction," it said.

MalaysiaNow is attempting to contact the relevant parties for their response.