02/06/2026
With regards to the latest discussion about Non Muslim religious unfairness in Malaysia and reading about Muslims talking about how they pay for their own Muslims things and why must we Non Muslims complain about begging for land to build churches and temples (as a person who used to work in the construction industry, I know that there was very, very, very few new land approvals in Malaysia thus the reason for rentals in shoplots and industrial lots. Worse still now even the local govt is thinking of restricting the use of shoplots, so it's even harder for non Muslims. )
Did you know that almost all Non Muslims living in the Klang Valley must pay to build the surau in their apartment complex even though they are not allowed to use it? This is because the developers are mandated to build it like how they must build the TNB substation and so they have to factor in the cost of the building of the surau room and the cost is then factored in and shared among the buyers. Every brick, every cement, the land cost ...
Who pays to maintain suraus in the apartment complex? It is the Muslims AND Non Muslims alike. This is because most Klang Valley people living in apartments must pay maintenance fee for their strata title units that includes maintaining shared spaces such as the playground, the carpark, the lights, the lifts and yes, the water Muslims use before praying, electricity bill, when the surau door rosak, surau room paint peeling, and such even though they cannot use this room to share to pray when they need space.
So if Christians need a space for bible studies, they have to rent or find somewhere else. If a Buddhist group need a space to meditate for an hour, they too need to find somewhere else.
Edit (I get it, many people say it's fair), yet somehow this whole religious rights thing feels so unfair at times because when I was working in a Land Survey firm, when we subdivided the properties, I always see an allocation for Muslim prayer rooms and land. Meanwhile, I also see how it is so difficult for Non Muslims to obtain approval for land to build prayer buildings such as churches and temples. Usually, they are allowed to renovate designated old lots so there is a lot of confusion because people think those are new lots. Fact is, it is EXTREMELY difficult to get Majlis or DBKL to want to approve new lots. Almost as difficult as Airasia getting landing rights to Subang airport.
This is a Boiling Frog situation where we all want to live in harmony, yet politician policies are insidious and offer terribly unfair practices meaning I'm showing the vast differences between what is offered to one group vs being kicked around as another group. In conclusion, we Non Muslims hope that we finally get to be allowed to buy some land that we pay from our own pockets to build prayer buildings (churches and temples). We are willing to use our own money, money was never the issue. It is the approval that is so difficult to obtain. So difficult. The refusal to even allow this is just so sad meaning Muslims so easy to obtain approval for land and rooms in buildings to pray but not Non Muslims. As a Muslim, even you can see how unfair it is. Yes, it is govt policies but as a whole, we the rakyats are the people who voted them in.
