Are permits required for religious use?
Posted on February 19, 2008
Filed Under local government | 6 Comments
Taking the cue from Lulu’s blog that Lulu’s VERY Concerned For The Churches In Subang Jaya, where it was revealed that churches operating out of shop houses need to apply for an annual licence from the local council.
Therein, a question was raised – “I would like to know under what law that a church has to apply for a permit? And does a surau or masjid needs to apply for one too?”
I did a quick check and this is the brief answer.
1. Surau / masjid does not need a permit as they are usually built on land gazetted by the state as religious land. It is the same with churches built on religious land.
2. As for this “new licence -
The local govt can issue bye-laws to regulate a matter they are empowered to by the Local Govt Act 1976.
s.102 where it list out all the matters the local government can regulate. The local council cannot regulate or demand licence for that which they are not empowered by this Act.
Section 102. General power to make by-laws.
In addition to the powers of making by-laws expressly or impliedly conferred upon it by any other power to provisions of this Act every local authority may from time to time make, amend and revoke by-laws in respect of all such matters as are necessary or desirable for the maintenance of the health, safety and well-being of the inhabitants or for the good order and government of the local authority area and in particular in respect of all or any of the following purposes:
(a) to regulate the form in which all estimates, budgets, statements, returns, or other accounts of the local authority shall be drawn up and kept;
(b) to regulate the repairing, cleaning, watering and lighting of streets, roads, canals and bridges;
(c) to regulate, license, restrict, prevent or remove the exhibition of advertisements;
(d) to regulate the planting, preservation and removal of trees, flowers and shrubs in public places;
(e) to provide for the protection from damage or interference of any local authority works or property situated or being in, under or over any public or private place within the local authority area;
(f) to provide for the establishment, regulation and management of any public park, walk, recreation and pleasure ground, garden, swimming pool, lake, stadium, historical building or site, public library, art gallery, museum, public theatre, restaurant, hall, assembly room, botanical or zoological garden or aquarium;
(g) to regulate within the local authority area the landing and temporary storage of goods upon public quays, wharves and streets, adjacent to any port, or any waterway connected therewith, and to fix the fees to be charged in respect of such temporary storage;
(h) to regulate any public sales held in any public place;
(i) to define the streets or areas within which shops, warehouses, factories or business premises may not be erected, or within which specified trades, businesses or callings may not be established or carried on;
(j) to regulate, license, supervise, restrict or prohibit the playing of musical instruments, singing or performing for profit, in any public place;
(k) to regulate the maintenance, distribution and use of any artificial light, gas or other energy that is supplied by the local authority;
(l) to provide for the establishment, maintenance, regulation and control of public transport services and to prescribe fares to be charged;
(m) to regulate fire brigades and to provide for the conditions of service, administration and discipline of all members thereof;
(n) (i) to regulate, supervise and license trishaws and carts and to prescribe the rates or fares, whether by distance or time within or without the local authority area to be charged for such services, the number of passengers and the weights, dimensions, and nature of the loads to be carried and the mode of construction thereof;
(ii) to prescribe standards of medical and physical fitness and efficiency for the riders, drivers or haulers of trishaws or carts, as the case may be;
(o) to provide for the licensing of bicycles and tricycles;
(p) to provide for the establishment, regulation, inspection and licensing of places of entertainment, public recreation or public resort, and to make regulations governing the means of ingress to and egress from such places and for providing adequate parking space adjacent or in reasonable proximity thereto;
(q) to prohibit, restrict or regulate the transportation and quarrying of stone, lime, clay, sand or other material on any premises and the burning of lime and manufacture of bricks;
(r) to prohibit, restrict or regulate the use of any land as a pond for the keeping or breeding of fish;
(s) to control and supervise, by registration, licensing or otherwise, including in proper cases by prohibition, a trade, business or industry which is of an obnoxious nature or which could be a source of nuisance to the public or a class of the public;
(t) to provide for the offences under this Act and any by-laws which may be compounded by the local authority, the persons who may compound, the limit of the sum of money to be collected by such local authority for compounding such offences and the procedure and forms to be complied with in compounding; and
(u) in so far as they do not fall within any of the preceding paragraphs, to provide for all procedural and other matters which by this Act are required or permitted to be prescribed, or which are necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to the provisions of this Act.
As far as I read this, there is no provision to regulate places of worship/ church in this s.102. If anything, one would need to use 102(p) and argue that church is a place of entertainment, public recreation or public resort or a business, trade or industry that is a nuisance to a class of public in 102(s). Some councilor might claim that singing and dancing in church to be a recreation. Or that church music can be a deemed nuisance to some people.
A reasonable person would not use these 2 subsection as a basis for the creation of a bye-law to regulate churches in shop-houses. But then again, do we have reasonable people in the local government?
That said, there are many churches who are registered as either a business or a society who are using shop lots for their activities.
If it is registered as a business, then they would need a business licence not the new licence. If it is registered as a society, then they need to comply with the Societies Act and not this new licence.
So i really dont know where our MP got this idea from.
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6 Responses to “Are permits required for religious use?”
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“Singing and dancing in church can be a recreation. Church music can be a nuisance to some people.”
Is this what you think is the interpretation by the local councillors? Or is it your view? Singing and dancing in church is not recreation. It is a form of worship for many Christians though many may be alien to this form of worship. To interpret church music as being a nuisance takes it in the same interpretation as the azan and usage of prayer items like bells from temples.
If you are merely trying to say that this kind of interpretation is ludicrous, then I would suggest that you state so because your statement is way too vague (and insensitive without the proper caveats) and may lead to much misunderstanding.
JC: Thanks for the comment/correction. Will clarify.
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Thanks for the clarification. My question is, can churches use this information to avoid applying for permits? Or is there nothing they can do?
Also, a lot of people have the impression that Grace Assembly being granted a land title is an election goodie to fish for votes. However I am curious if you know whether this is the case or not?
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Adino, answers to your question:
1. Churches should wait and see, that is – what till there is a bye-law enacted that insist on a license or permit of churches in shoplot. Unless there is a bye-law, the local council don’t have any power to demand a payment be made. Watch this space for any update.
2. Although I am from Grace, I may not know all the facts surrounding this. But this I know as a member from what our Senior Pastor shared 2 years ago.
That Grace owned a land in Klang, and some 22 years ago, the State Government wanted that land.
Grace wanted the piece of land (car park) in front of the current church in PJ. So Grace agreed to give the land in Klang to the State if the State agreed to an exchange.
The State Govt at that time agreed. Grace gave the land in Klang for free to the State. But it took 22 years to get what was promised. Grace have the letter in black and white dated 22 years ago for the exchange. Filed the application then.
But many times the application forms and files went missing in the 22 years. And Senior Pastor had do a lot of visits, calls, and lobbying and refiling of applications to get the small piece of land.
But the big question is why now? Obviously it is election time. Grace was suppose to get it 22 years ago. So, it is not really a gift from BN but something that Grace deserved in the first place in exchange for the Klang land.
Thats the real story.
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