I REFER to the letters from V. Thomas of Sungei Buloh ("Hindu Sangam should be the clearing house") and V.R. of Kuala Lumpur ("Wrong focus" -- NST, Oct 6).

Both writers have rightly stated that the Malaysia Hindu Sangam plays a critical role in addressing the various problems concerning the status of Hindu temples in Malaysia.

The Sangam puts great emphasis on the critical role that the temples can play in offering solutions to some of the social problems affecting the community.

The activation of special projects such as the Vidhyala (pre-school) programmes using the temple network has been the key to this effort.

These programmes focus on providing better opportunities for children from poor communities to better themselves through free tuition classes and living skills guidance, career and personal development counselling and other social welfare activities.

However, in Malaysia today, temples have unfortunately become more renowned for the demolition of some of them by various government authorities.

This problem is directly associated with the legal status of temples, especially with respect to land title and regulatory approvals of structures.

An unofficial count puts the number of big and small temples in Malaysia at 17,000.

Though many of these temples have the required legal status and sound administration, many others lack these features.

While there is no mandatory or official governance system that standardises all temples, the Sangam, as the principal national representative body for Hindus in Malaysia, has been playing an active role in supporting the network of temples around the country with a structured response and government liaison service that is available to all.

Our goal has been to ensure that all temples in Malaysia not only achieve the necessary legal status, but also are able to function effectively to best serve the needs of the communities that patronise them.

We have consistently called for all temple committees to register their respective institutions with the Sangam. This can be done quite easily as the Sangam is well represented in each state.

Regardless of whether they may be registered with the Sangam or not, any particular temple in danger of being demolished can always be assured of pro-active action by the Sangam to ensure the matter is addressed amicably and within the law, and in keeping with the spirit of muhibah.

In respect of the Sri Maha Kaliamman temple in Ampang Jaya, which was recently demolished by the Ampang Jaya Municipal Council, the Sangam played a primary role in ensuring that the Selangor state government took immediate measures to remedy the misdirected actions of the council.

We continue to serve as an intermediary in the ongoing discussions between the state government and the temple authorities in resolving this matter, particularly to ensure that the temple is allotted a suitable new site as well as the necessary resources for its reconstruction.

The Sangam has worked closely over the years with all relevant Federal Government bodies as well as state governments. Our goal has been to ensure that a relevant and well-resourced Hindu temple network is in place to ensure a harmonious, spiritually inspired and culturally enhanced community of Malay-sian Hindus.

Towards this end, the Sangam has been working on long-term solutions to social issues, including the matter of the legal status of temples.

We are approaching this from not only the Hindu perspective, but also with due regard to all of us being part of a multiracial, multi-religious nation.

While it appears to be a colossal task, especially with the numerous temples around the country, we are confident of arriving at a situation that will be acceptable to all, without compromising the accessibility of Hindus to their spiritual and cultural sanctuaries.