FMT:
Grant delays not to blame for closure of Penang House of Music, says CM
14 Mar 2024, 02:43 PM
Chow Kon Yeow says the state is not responsible for how the arts and music centre managed the assistance it received.
Chow Kon Yeow says the state is not responsible for how the arts and music centre managed the assistance it received.
Penang chief minister Chow Kon Yeow said regardless of how early or late grants are given, the recipients should know how to manage them well. (Bernama pic)
GEORGE TOWN: Penang chief minister Chow Kon Yeow today denied claims that delays in the state’s grants to Penang House of Music (PHoM) led to its eventual closure.
He said regardless of how early or late grants are given, the recipients should know how to manage them well.
“We have given substantial grants over the past years to PHoM – RM500,000 yearly. They were to find the best way possible to settle their rent and other costs.
“Late or not, they were a form of assistance. The state cannot be responsible for how well you manage the grants,” he told reporters in Komtar.
Widely regarded as a repository of arts and music for Penang and the country, PHoM is closing its doors this Saturday after eight years.
Its founder Paul Augustin told FMT that the RM500,000 grants PHoM had received for three years from 2020 to 2022 were often delayed, causing payment disruptions and leading to a legal dispute over outstanding rent.
The 6,800 sq ft space at Komtar cost him RM17,045 a month, Augustin had said.
PHoM was set up in 2016 with an initial fund of RM3 million from the Penang Water Supply Corporation.
Communications minister Fahmi Fadzil recently paid it a visit, calling the establishment an icon of Malayan radio history. He also ordered government-backed investment arm MyCreative Ventures to look into helping it.
On news that PHoM might be relocated to Kuala Lumpur, Chow wished the centre well.
“The fact remains that it will have to vacate the current premises due to outstanding rent. We welcome any efforts to help them,” he said.
GEORGE TOWN: Penang chief minister Chow Kon Yeow today denied claims that delays in the state’s grants to Penang House of Music (PHoM) led to its eventual closure.
He said regardless of how early or late grants are given, the recipients should know how to manage them well.
“We have given substantial grants over the past years to PHoM – RM500,000 yearly. They were to find the best way possible to settle their rent and other costs.
“Late or not, they were a form of assistance. The state cannot be responsible for how well you manage the grants,” he told reporters in Komtar.
Widely regarded as a repository of arts and music for Penang and the country, PHoM is closing its doors this Saturday after eight years.
Its founder Paul Augustin told FMT that the RM500,000 grants PHoM had received for three years from 2020 to 2022 were often delayed, causing payment disruptions and leading to a legal dispute over outstanding rent.
The 6,800 sq ft space at Komtar cost him RM17,045 a month, Augustin had said.
PHoM was set up in 2016 with an initial fund of RM3 million from the Penang Water Supply Corporation.
Communications minister Fahmi Fadzil recently paid it a visit, calling the establishment an icon of Malayan radio history. He also ordered government-backed investment arm MyCreative Ventures to look into helping it.
On news that PHoM might be relocated to Kuala Lumpur, Chow wished the centre well.
“The fact remains that it will have to vacate the current premises due to outstanding rent. We welcome any efforts to help them,” he said.
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