Guan Eng: Palanivel appears confused

In a letter to the MIC president, the CM points out that the state government was not responsible for the demolition of a Hindu temple.

PETALING JAYA: The MIC president appears confused about the facts regarding the demolition of a Hindu temple in Penang, said Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng.

In a letter to G Palanivel, he pointed out that the state government was not responsible for the incident at the Prai Bulk cargo terminal, where a Muniswaran temple was torn down on April 20.

He was responding to the MIC’s president demand for an apology from Lim over his remark that Hindu temples would be threatened if Umno returned to power in the state.

Defending Umno, Palanivel had said that Lim’s allegation was untrue since the federal government provided various allocations for building and repairing temples nationwide.

In his letter, the chief minister said: “The state government views the demolition seriously and condemns the Penang Port Sdn Bhd (PPSB) and Penang Port Commission (PPC) for not respecting religious sensitivities in allowing the temple which served as a place of worship for PPSB’s Indian workers to be demolished.”

“You (Palanivel) are perhaps confused because it was not the state government which demolished the temple but PPSB, which falls under the purview of the federal government.

“So it should be PPSB chairman (Umno assemblyman) Hilmi Yahya and PPC chairman (MCA president) Dr Chua Soi Lek who should apologise,” he added in the letter dated May 15.

Lim also said he made the controversial remark in the state assembly following Hilmi’s refusal to apologise in the House to all Hindus for the demolition.

Penang opposition leader Azhar Ibrahim had also lodged a police report against Lim over the statement which the former regarded as seditious.

The Penaga assemblyman claimed that the DAP secretary-general’s statement caused uneasiness among the people and could lead to racial disharmony.

Meanwhile, the chief minister also sought a meeting with Palanivel to discuss the issue and to explore ways of rebuilding the temple.

Indian support rising for MIC

In another development, Palanivel claimed that the Indian community’s confidence in MIC was on the rise.

According to a Bernama report, he said the community was aware that MIC truly looked after its welfare compared to the opposition which was only good at making empty promises.

On MIC’s list of candidates for the upcoming general election, Palanivel said the list was ready and was at the discussion stage with Prime Minister and Barisan Nasional chairman Najib Tun Razak.

However, whether the MIC president would contest in the upcoming general election continued to remain a mystery, with certain observers claiming that he was unbale to find a safe seat.

The former Hulu Selangor MP was one of the many high-profile casualties in the 2008 general election.