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    08 May 2012| last updated at 01:24AM

    Sikhs told they can build temple

    By HALIM SAID|SUBANG JAYA|streets@nstp.com.my

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    REJOICING:Gurdwara Sahib Subang Association given green light to build temple in Subang Jaya

    IT was not only an auspicious day  for the devotees of the Subang Jaya Buddhist Association (SJBA) but also  for the members of Gurdwara Sahib Subang Association (GSSA) as they were given an empty plot of land next to the BHP petrol station in SS14 to build a Sikh temple.

    Menteri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim made the announcement during the Wesak Day celebrations at SJBA.

    GSSA representatives cheered when they heard the news as the Sikh community in Subang Jaya has been  functioning without a  temple building for  15 years.

    Mahinder Singh of GSSA said the  community has been holding its religious activities at a shoplot in SS15.

    "The community hopes to build a three-story temple," he said.

    The three temples in the vicinity,  the Buddhist, Hindu and soon-to-be-built Sikh temple, will  apply to  the Subang Jaya Municipal Council  to have sharing rights for the use of a small open field next to SJBA for religious occasions and activities.

    Khalid also  officiated  the groundbreaking  of the RM1.3 million pedestrian bridge project undertaken by the state Public Works Department. It is slated for completion by December.

    Once the  bridge is completed, devotees of the three temples --  Sri Vartharaja Perumal Hindu temple, SJBA and Gurdwara Sahib Subang -- will be able to park their vehicles in SS14 and cross Persiaran Kewajipan without the risk of being run over by vehicles.

    Subang Jaya state assemblyman Hannah Yeoh  welcomed  the building of the Sikh temple and said  the pedestrian bridge would help to ease devotees' difficulty in crossing the 10 busy lanes on Persiaran Kewajipan.

    Yeoh also thanked the Sunway Group for helping to resolve  traffic problems in the vicinity by providing free parking space at its Monash University each time a festivity was held in the temple grounds.

    "The parking bays will be free for the devotees from  7am to midnight. The temples' associations will also provide shuttle buses to help devotees commute back and forth from the car park to the temples," she said.

    Buddhist youths singing at the Wesak Day celebrations at the Subang Jaya Buddhist Association. Pic by Sugumaran Suppiah

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