Anwar also said that compromises were made by the parties involved.

He said he had personally instructed his Cabinet to negotiate an amicable solution.

“From the very beginning, I stressed that we need to be firm in negotiations.

“Yes, we will be tolerant, but we won’t budge from our decision that a mosque must be built,” he said at the groundbreaking ceremony of the mosque here this morning.

Anwar added that reaching a win-win solution was not a sign of weakness, as claimed by some quarters.

He said a peaceful resolution was part of the Madani principles.
The plan to relocate the Dewi Sri Pathrakaliamman temple to make way for the mosque had sparked a public backlash, including from lawyers.

Two days ago, Anwar defended the need for a new mosque, saying the ones currently in the vicinity were crowded. Federal territories minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa meanwhile revealed that the temple would be relocated just 50m away from the current site.

Jakel Trading Sdn Bhd previously said it had acquired the land in 2012 and received permission in 2021 to begin constructing a mosque there.

However, it said it had delayed the construction “out of respect” for the temple relocation process. The firm also agreed to pay for the cost of the temple’s relocation.

Today, Anwar said that the resolution highlighted the “wisdom, strength, and glory of Islam”.

He thanked those involved in reaching the resolution, including his non-Muslim colleagues in government such as digital minister Gobind Singh Deo and deputy entrepreneur and cooperatives development minister R Ramanan.

“If everyone wanted to play the hero of their respective race, this country would be destroyed,” he said.