Selangor Approved House Of Worship Guidelines Without Asking Non-Muslim Affairs Committee?

Petaling Jaya MP Lee Chean Chung raised the alarm on Selangor planning guidelines that would have banned non-Muslim places of worship from commercial shoplots — rules that had been approved twice by the State Executive Council in November 2025 and sat unnoticed for six months.

In Brief

Selangor approved planning guidelines banning non-Muslim worship in commercial shoplots twice, without consulting the LIMAS non-Muslim affairs committee.
Non-Muslim communities have relied on commercial shoplots for worship for nearly two decades due to a shortage of gazetted land.
MP Lee Chean Chung raised the alarm publicly, prompting a review after six months of the guidelines already being in force.
Lee is calling for a formal requirement ensuring future planning guidelines affecting religious communities include LIMAS consultation from the outset.

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Petaling Jaya MP Lee Chean Chung has turned a political rebuke into a pointed accountability question — and it is one the Selangor state government has not yet fully answered.

After Lee publicly flagged planning guidelines that would have banned non-Muslim places of worship from commercial shoplots, a fellow DAP member suggested he had “not done the necessary homework.”

Lee’s response was sharp: the problem isn’t that he missed something.

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The problem is that it appeared as though the state’s own committee for non-Muslim affairs were either not consulted or had agreed to the guidelines.

“LIMAS — which is co-chaired by three EXCO members who had also approved the guidelines — should explain publicly how this important step of obtaining LIMAS’ input was missed,” he said in a statement on Sunday (24 May).

LIMAS refers to the System of Assistance for Non-Islamic Places of Worship in Selangor, Malaysia, which covers five religions: Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism, and Taoism.

The program aims to support these religious communities in their places of worship.

Six Months, Two Approvals, No Consultation

The guidelines Lee flagged are part of the Selangor State Planning Guidelines and Standards for Community Facilities.

They were approved by the State Executive Council not once, but twice — on 7 November and 12 November 2025.

The document’s own preface states it has been approved for implementation across all 12 of Selangor’s local authorities, state and federal agencies, developers, and town planning consultants.

It has since been published and is being sold at RM300 per copy.

Preparation began in 2024 and involved all 12 local authorities and relevant agencies.

At no point in that process was LIMAS — the Selangor Special Committee on Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism — consulted.

Engagement with LIMAS only began after Lee raised the alarm publicly on Saturday (23 May), six months after the guidelines were approved.

Lee also noted that under Freedom of Information principles, planning documents of this nature should be freely available to the public, not sold at RM300 a copy.

The Sgor state govt's new planning guidelines banning non-Islamic houses of worship from being built in commercial areas was approved at a Selangor state exco meeting on 12 Nov 2025

You are part of the Selangor state exco, Mr Ng. You and your party agreed to this.

Only after… pic.twitter.com/5otQLkkVMt
— Naratif Rakyat 🇲🇾 (@NaratifRakyat) May 23, 2026

This Was Their Only Option, The Guidelines Would Have Taken It Away

The guidelines were not a minor technical update.

They stated explicitly that non-Muslim places of worship are “not permitted” in commercial zones, and that converting existing buildings for such use “is not allowed.”

For years, non-Muslim religious communities across Selangor have operated out of commercial shoplots — not by preference, but because land gazetted specifically for non-Islamic places of worship has long been in short supply.

Congregations rent shophouse units, register with the Registrar of Societies (ROS), and apply to local councils for permission to operate.

This arrangement has existed for nearly two decades.

As far back as 2008, the Selangor state government had explicitly allowed churches to operate in commercial premises without permits, requiring only notification to the state’s non-Islamic affairs committee — a policy grounded in Article 11 of the Federal Constitution, which guarantees freedom of worship.

Had the guidelines gone unnoticed, that arrangement would have quietly ended.

The Criticism Came From Within Too

When Lee raised the issue, critics suggested he had not done his homework.

Lee called the accusation arrogant and warned that it should not be used to redirect blame away from what went wrong internally.

I sincerely hope this is not an attempt to scapegoat others for mistakes that were overlooked in the process.

Hours after Lee’s initial statement, Ng Sze Han — Co-Chairman of LIMAS and Chairman of DAP Selangor — confirmed that the guidelines had not yet been enforced, would be placed on hold, and would be reviewed in consultation with religious associations in early June.

The state government described the situation as an “administrative and technical alignment” issue, and pledged that Selangor would remain “a progressive, fair, and inclusive state for all.”

The pushback was not limited to Lee alone.

Selangor DAP secretary, Yeo Bee Yin, herself an EXCO member, echoed the concern, warning that the state’s promise of gazetted land for new residential areas was not a sufficient answer, as non-Islamic faiths span too many distinct religions and denominations to be served by a single plot, and many smaller congregations simply do not have the capital to build on one.

June’s Meeting Just Got a Lot More Complicated

Lee welcomed the pause but said it is not sufficient on its own.

He is calling for a formal requirement that all future town planning guidelines affecting religious communities include LIMAS and broader stakeholders from the start of the process, rather than only after public pressure forces a review.

This is not just about one guideline, it is about ensuring that policies affecting religious communities are made through a transparent, inclusive and consultative process.

The June review is now carrying more weight than a routine consultation.

It is expected to address not just whether the guidelines should be revised or scrapped, but how a document this consequential moved through two rounds of EXCO approval — and six months of implementation — without the communities it affects ever being asked.

For now, non-Muslim places of worship operating in commercial shoplots across Selangor can continue without fear of enforcement action, at least until that review concludes.

The Selangor planning guidelines remain on hold. The consultative review with religious associations is scheduled for early June.