KUALA LUMPUR — Police have failed to secure a remand for activist Tamim Dahri and three other men who are accused of demolishing a Hindu temple allegedly built without approval in Rawang, Selangor.
The Selayang Magistrates’ Court had initially granted a two-day remand order for the four men.
However, their lawyer immediately filed a review application at the Shah Alam High Court.
Aidil Khalid, representing the men, said the High Court subsequently quashed the remand order issued by the lower court.
“The High Court has directed the police to release them immediately,” he said in a Facebook post.
The four men were arrested yesterday for allegedly demolishing part of the temple in Rawang, with authorities seizing a backhoe during the operation.
The investigation is ongoing under sections relating to mischief, damage to a place of worship, insult with intent to breach the peace, and criminal trespass.
Tamim was previously involved in organising a rally against what he described as “illegal” houses of worship last Saturday and had also been arrested alongside controversial preacher Zamri Vinoth in relation to the event.
He has been linked to a campaign calling for the demolition of places of worship purportedly built on government or private land without permission.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim yesterday urged the public not to take the law into their own hands, emphasising that the rule of law must be respected in such matters. – February 12, 2026