JUDGMENT

Faizah Jamaludin J:

Introduction

[1] This is a civil suit by the plaintiffs against the defendant in respect of the operation and management of the Sri Kottai Sanggili Karuppar Ayya Temple Ulu Langat located on Jalan Rasa Sayang, Cheras, Selangor (the "temple") and the collection of funds from the public for the rebuilding and expansion of the temple.

[2] After full trial, I dismissed the plaintiffs' action against the defendant, and the defendant's counterclaim against the plaintiffs, for lack of locus standi and for failure to comply with the mandatory requirements in s 9(c) of the Societies Act 1966 ("the Societies Act").

[3] The full reasons for my decision are set out in this judgment.

Key Background Facts

[4] The temple has its beginnings as a prayer hut built in 2007 by the first and 2nd plaintiffs in front of a factory building rented by the 1st plaintiff. They had built a small hut with a Hindu prayer symbol - a trisula, which the plaintiff later replaced with the statute of a deity, and the prayer hut converted into the temple.

[5] The temple was managed by plaintiffs and others, who are members of an informal committee set up in 2014. The members of the informal commi