MPPP irked by banners of queen found at dumpsites

Raja Permaisuri Agong Tuanku Haminah Hamidun is set to launch tomorrow the new premises for Public Gold International Bhd (PGIB), which buys and sells physical gold bars and coins at international market prices.

But even before her visit takes place, the Penang Municipal Council (MPPP) is up in arms over banners of the queen found in “inappropriate” places on the island, including dumpsites.

MPPP councillor Ong Ah Teong said the council has been receiving calls questioning why the banners were found near rubbish bins, and hung in venues not according to proper guidelines.

“Some people have called us to say we have insulted the queen,” he told a press conference in Penang.

“They thought at once that it is the state government which is organising the event, but we would like to clarify that it is a private sector affair,” he added.

MPPP has initially approved 400 banners for the event, which is scheduled to take place at Wisma Public Gold tomorrow.

The company has now applied for approval for another 800 banners, and this has been okayed by the council, said Ong.

However, more banners are being put up haphazardly around Penang, with some ending up in places not approved by the protocol deparment at the State Secretariat, he added.

“When the council informed the organisers of the problem, we were told to clear up the mess. This is not acceptable,” he added.

‘Say sorry to the queen’

Ong wants the organisers to apologise to the queen for “insulting her”, and to the state government for getting it involved in its mess.

When contacted, Public Gold founder Louis Ng said that the banners were “put up in a rush” and hoped that the problem will not jeorpadise the company’s event.

He added that since there were too many banners to put up in a short time, his contractors would have sub-contracted the work out to others.

“They may not have been qualified for the job. I apologise on behalf of the contractors.”

He said Public Gold is working with the State Secretariat in terms of proper protocol to follow to make the event successful.

He praised the local council for already having agreed to their request to allow 1,200 banners.

“We hope they will soon approve a request for 2,000 more. This is a very good event and time is running short.”