[Watch] Mosque Land Hijacked: The 13-Year Dengkil Standoff That Has Malaysia Talking
The situation becomes particularly sensitive as it emerges during a period of heightened awareness about religious property issues in Malaysia, following other high-profile cases of temple-mosque disputes in urban areas.
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When officials recently visited a mosque site in Dengkil, Selangor, they weren’t there to break ground on construction.
Instead, they were dealing with a decade-old headache: a Hindu temple and Chinese shrine illegally built on land that’s been earmarked for a mosque since 2012.
Initially, Selangor Islamic Religious Department (JAIS) Deputy Director Mohd Faizal Abd Raji and Sepang District Officer Khairi Azali Ibrahim thought they had a win.
The visit seemed to end with everyone agreeing to pack up and leave, but then came the plot twist.
JAIS, the land’s official owner, found more than just unauthorized places of worship.
A family had set up a full-blown operation – complete with residential buildings and a goat farm – all without permission on land meant for Muslim worship.
From Handshake to Holdout: Squatter’s Last-Minute Land Demand
Raman Ganggatharam, 49, claims he has been living on that land for 25 years and now has a wife and three children.
“How can we just leave? We want them to provide land,” Ganggatharam said adding, “If they provide it, we will leave. Where would we and our animals go if we leave immediately?”
Ganggatharam added he did not know that the site was going to be developed as a new mosque.
This demand for alternative land has set social media on fire.
Many Malaysians are asking: How does someone illegally occupy religious land for ten years and then have the nerve to demand compensation?
@themerdekatimes Menurut TV Pertiwi, ketika ditanya sama ada keluarga Raman Ganggatharam akan berpindah jika diarah pihak berkuasa, Raman berkata mereka akan berbuat demikian sekiranya dapat tanah di lokasi lain untuk menetap dan memindahkan haiwan ternakan. “Kita mahu keluar pun macam mana boleh keluar? Kita mahu dia (pihak berkuasa) beri tanah, kalau dia beri kita keluarlah. Kalau kita terus keluar, kita dan haiwan-haiwan mahu pergi mana?" – Raman. #themerdekatimes #fyp #dengkil #malaysia #masjid ♬ original sound – The Merdeka Times (TMT)
Fence It or Lose It: Local Leaders Push JAIS to Act After Years of Silence
The local Dengkil State Assembly Coordinator, Noorazli Said, tried to keep things diplomatic, stating the land’s status remains under JAIS and construction will proceed.
But Village Chief Al Rasyid Ab Rani isn’t taking chances, suggesting JAIS better put up fencing before someone else decides to claim squatter’s rights.
Making matters worse, the Dengkil Village Development and Security Committee (JPKK) recently revealed they had to file a police report, pointing out that JAIS hadn’t bothered to report the encroachment despite knowing about it since 2012.
The solution? According to officials, there’s no compensation on the table.
The encroachers must clear out, and the land needs to return to its original state.
But with Ganggatharam and family digging in their heels (and their goats), what started as a simple land dispute has become a test of Malaysia’s willingness to enforce its own laws.
KENYATAAN PENGERUSI JPKK DENGKIL
— CIKY🅰️Nie (@lady_bugg11) April 10, 2025
Baru-baru ini tular isu berkaitan sebuah kuil yang dibangkitkan oleh Ketua Kampung dari AMANAH Dengkil.
Setelah mendapatkan maklumat yang lebih tepat berhubung perkara ini, mmg akui bahawa kuil tersebut sememangnya telah dibina secara tidak sah… pic.twitter.com/stqcvXgYmR
Temple Tensions Echo: Dengkil Dispute Mirrors KL’s Heritage Temple Crisis
Meanwhile, Masjid Baru Dengkil remains unbuilt, its land still hosting unauthorized temples and some very comfortable goats.
As one social media user put it, “We’ve got laws, we’ve got regulations – what we don’t have is enforcement.”
For now, the ball is in JAIS’s court.
Will they stick to their guns about no compensation, or will Ganggatharam’s goats continue their decade-long grazing on mosque land? Stay tuned – this Dengkil drama is far from over.
The timing couldn’t be more sensitive.
This standoff emerges against the backdrop of another religious property dispute that’s already testing communal relations – the controversial proposed relocation of the 130-year-old Dewi Sri Pathrakaliamman Hindu temple in Kuala Lumpur, which has prompted Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim himself to call for calm.
@madaninomics PMX TEGAS TOLAK RETORIK AGAMA, SERU PENYELESAIAN HARMONI ISU KUIL “Masalahnya ada penunggang-penunggang agama, termasuk peguam yang tidak pernah terlibat dalam kegiatan agama, tiba-tiba jadi jaguh dan keluarkan kenyataan seolah-olah mahu merobohkan kuil. Saya tidak boleh bayangkan, sebagai Perdana Menteri, saya merobohkan mana-mana kuil atau rumah ibadat agama lain. Yang penting, kita cari jalan yang baik supaya mereka mendapat tapak yang sah, diiktiraf dan insya-Allah diselesaikan secara harmoni.” – @Anwar Ibrahim, Perdana Menteri #anwaribrahim #isurumahibadat #dewisripathrakaliamman #dewisripathrakaliammantemple ♬ original sound – MadaniNomics 🇲🇾
READ MORE: Conflict No More – PMX Officiates Groundbreaking Of Jakel’s Masjid Madani
Parts of this story have been sourced from Malaysia Gazette and Malaysiakini.
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