Pray Tell

RM20 million seems to the min cost for building a new mosque going by Mohsin Abdullah’s writing and the plea from Setia Alam surau one fine Friday sermon a few weeks back.

The Khatib – a Kelantanese Imam who recites the Al Fatihah with much aplomb and finesse – spoke of the said sum to a typically packed congregation for the proposed new mosque in the up and about new township sandwiched between Shah Alam and Klang.

Apparently, Muslim residents there had started a donation drive. Collections however impressive at RM700k looks to be a dead option when looking at the price tag being bandied.

Just like Mohsin, I too remember PMNTR’s RM20 million allocations for the Kampung Baru mosque: “... to fund the renovation and upgrading of the mosque which would become the starting pointand transformation icon for the area which would be turned into a high-value, sophisticated and modern area…”

I’ve paraphrase two sentences to the above actually, but that’s the gist of it.

Mohsin, in a second article on Kampung Baru, wrote: “…the wrecking ball descended on the mosque. The back portion demolished.. the project train set in motion. Poser: Could this mean, taking into consideration what the PM had said, that the Kampung Baru facelift is also on its way?

“Or will it be done soon, despite the ongoing protest of residents?”

He asked some really valid questions in fact.

The government has a nasty habit of bulldozing through, urm, “developments” despite some particularly sustained protests. Lynas, Pengerang, EPF loan for poor housing, 100 storey Tower, Section 114A…

There could well be exceptions, but nothing comes to mind at the moment.

I used to believe in the “big picture” justification. Not anymore.

With plots of land being carved out for mega developments – Sungai Buloh RRI land, Sungei Besi airport  – the folks in Kampung Baru (the few enclave left of bustling, busy and chronically overbuild capital City) would well be forgiven to cast suspicious glances at seemingly Blitzkrieg- styled tactics.

As for the mosque in Setia Alam, how I wish I was a millionaire; no, make that a billionaire…