FMT:
Chow ‘shocked’ over placement of Hindu board under federal ministry
The Penang chief minister wants an explanation since the state government was not consulted.
The Penang Hindu Endowments Board administers five endowments, property, and 13 temples on Penang island and the mainland.
GEORGE TOWN: The Penang government says it is “shocked” that a Hindu agency under its wing for the past century is now parked under a federal ministry.
Yesterday, the national unity ministry said the Penang Hindu Endowments Board, formerly supervised by the state government, will now come under its purview as part of a restructuring exercise carried out by the prime minister.
Speaking to reporters today, Penang chief minister Chow Kon Yeow said the state government was never consulted over the move.
“It is shocking news because we were never contacted by the federal government to place the PHEB under the national unity ministry,” he said on the sidelines of an event at Batu Kawan.
“It has been an agency under the Penang government for nearly 100 years, but all of a sudden, it has now been placed under the ministry.
“The state government will seek an official explanation from the ministry.”
PHEB chairman RSN Rayer welcomed the placement of the board under the ministry, saying the board could now expect higher allocations.
He also said PHEB would retain its autonomy like before, with the Penang government having full control over its affairs.
This was echoed by long-serving former PHEB chairman P Ramasamy, who said today that despite the board now coming under the national unity ministry, the state retains executive control over PHEB, including appointing its commissioners and chief.
Ramasamy said since PHEB was formed under a parliamentary Act, it had been assigned to a federal ministry for submission of annual reports to Parliament.
During his last term as chairman, he said, PHEB was parked under the human resources ministry.
The board is a statutory organisation first formed under a 1906 enactment by the colonial government of the Straits Settlements comprising Singapore, Penang and Melaka. The enactment later became federal law as the Hindu Endowments Act.
The board administers five endowments, property and 13 temples on Penang island and the mainland. It also organises the annual Thaipusam and Ponggal festivals in the state.
GEORGE TOWN: The Penang government says it is “shocked” that a Hindu agency under its wing for the past century is now parked under a federal ministry.
Yesterday, the national unity ministry said the Penang Hindu Endowments Board, formerly supervised by the state government, will now come under its purview as part of a restructuring exercise carried out by the prime minister.
Speaking to reporters today, Penang chief minister Chow Kon Yeow said the state government was never consulted over the move.
“It is shocking news because we were never contacted by the federal government to place the PHEB under the national unity ministry,” he said on the sidelines of an event at Batu Kawan.
“It has been an agency under the Penang government for nearly 100 years, but all of a sudden, it has now been placed under the ministry.
“The state government will seek an official explanation from the ministry.”
PHEB chairman RSN Rayer welcomed the placement of the board under the ministry, saying the board could now expect higher allocations.
He also said PHEB would retain its autonomy like before, with the Penang government having full control over its affairs.
This was echoed by long-serving former PHEB chairman P Ramasamy, who said today that despite the board now coming under the national unity ministry, the state retains executive control over PHEB, including appointing its commissioners and chief.
Ramasamy said since PHEB was formed under a parliamentary Act, it had been assigned to a federal ministry for submission of annual reports to Parliament.
During his last term as chairman, he said, PHEB was parked under the human resources ministry.
The board is a statutory organisation first formed under a 1906 enactment by the colonial government of the Straits Settlements comprising Singapore, Penang and Melaka. The enactment later became federal law as the Hindu Endowments Act.
The board administers five endowments, property and 13 temples on Penang island and the mainland. It also organises the annual Thaipusam and Ponggal festivals in the state.
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