KUALA LUMPUR: MIC Youth and the Save Vivekananda Ashram Brickfields (SVAB) Action Committee are urging the Vivekananda board of trustees to discuss the site’s redevelopment with them.
They have collected the signatures of more than 107,000 people opposed to the proposed development of a 23-storey service apartment on the site.
“Of the total, MIC Youth garnered 31,000 signatures from the public. They are the voice of the true beneficiaries of the ashram building. This petition will be submitted to City Hall soon,” said MIC Youth leader C. Sivarraajh.
“We believe that more signatures are being collected as several non-governmental organisations are also preparing petitions.
“The Vivekananda Ashram should be made a heritage site.
“On Nov 20, Tourism and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz announced that the ashram should be declared a national heritage site.
“He promised that the land would be protected. We hope he will fulfil his promise. If the proposed development is stopped, we have plans to organise cultural programmes and make it a learning centre.”
Meanwhile, SVAB action committee chairman G. Gunasegaran said the group wanted the board of trustees to cooperate with them to solve the issue.
“We have requested to meet them and discuss the matter, but they have yet to respond. We want this issue to be resolved as it has been dragging on for years,” he said.
“Nazri attended meetings with us on Nov 26 and 27, and assured us of his commitment to ensure the ashram building and land would be preserved as a national heritage site.
“We are not against any development, but we want the Vivekananda Ashram to remain untouched and preserved as a historical, social and cultural landmark,” he said.
He said the public could still sign the online petition at www.saveash
ram.com. By Fairuz Mohd Shahar