A Datuk Kong Shrine That Has Stood For Decades In Seri Kembangan, Then Came The Seal

The shrine in Taman Universiti Indah was sealed by city council enforcement officers on the evening of 9 March following repeated complaints. It was unsealed the same night, but the questions it left behind have not gone away.

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A Datuk Kong shrine at the entrance of Taman Universiti Indah in Seri Kembangan has sat at the same spot for decades — long enough that residents say it has simply become part of the neighbourhood.

On the evening of 9 March, enforcement officers from Majlis Bandaraya Subang Jaya (MBSJ) arrived and sealed it.

The reason given: repeated complaints had been received.

The shrine is located at the entrance of Taman Universiti Indah off Jalan Serdang.

Residents say it has stood there for more than 60 years without incident.

MBSJ enforcement officers visited the site in the afternoon of 9 March after receiving repeated complaints from the council, and a seal was placed on the shrine.

A Fast Response — And Faster Questions

At 7.20 pm that evening, Seri Kembangan state assemblyperson Wong Siew Ki was notified by residents that the shrine had been sealed.

Within 10 minutes, she had contacted MBSJ’s Deputy Mayor directly and looped in State Exco member Ng Sze Han, explaining that the shrine had a long history and did not obstruct traffic, endanger residents, or pose any environmental concern.

By 8.27 pm, the order to stop enforcement was issued, with residents confirming the seal had been physically removed by 9.50 pm.

The entire episode, from sealing to unsealing, took less than three hours.

“The Pakatan Harapan government’s position has always been that every community has the right to religious freedom,” Wong wrote in a Facebook post that evening.

We will not casually act against any place of worship.

She added that should any place of worship — particularly those without permits — ever need to be relocated to make way for public infrastructure such as roads or drainage upgrades, residents would be consulted on how best to accommodate them.

Who Filed The Complaint?

The following morning, MBSJ councillor Tey Boon Kiat visited the shrine with residents, later writing on Facebook that it “has quietly protected residents’ safety for years and does not obstruct any traffic or public space.

He also called on anyone with objections or complaints to meet him at his community service centre in Seri Kembangan every Wednesday, from 8 pm to 10 pm, adding that he would be requesting from MBSJ the details of whoever filed the complaints, including their reasons and motivations.

The swift reversal has not quieted the conversation.

On social media, residents and observers have raised several pointed questions — chief among them: who filed the complaint, and why now?

“First, we need to find out who ordered the sealing. If they did not follow proper procedure, they must be held accountable — not let off the hook,” wrote one commenter.

Many also questioned why a shrine that had stood quietly for over 60 years was suddenly sealed — and why it took just one phone call from a politician to undo it.

Some have also wondered whether the complaint came from within the Chinese community itself — though this remains unconfirmed, and MBSJ has not named the complainant.

The Broader Concern

For some residents, the incident is not an isolated one.

Several commenters pointed to a similar case at a Datuk Kong shrine near Villa Park Condo in the BS11 area, which they say also received an enforcement notice around the same time.

This has not been independently verified.

Some responses pointed to a broader concern — that enforcement actions like this one tend to fall more heavily on Chinese community religious sites than others.

“If illegal structures must come down, apply it equally,” one commenter wrote.

Tey, in his post, urged authorities to consult the local councillor before issuing any enforcement notices in the area — a step he said was not taken in this instance.