‘Missing’ gold bars: Rama issues a challenge

Lodged a report if you feel gold bars went missing under my watch, the PHEB chairman tells commissioner Gunabalan

GEORGE TOWN: Penang Hindu Endowment Board chairman P Ramasamy challenged board commissioner, K Gunabalan, to lodge a police report on the “missing” gold bars from the statutory body’s safe keep.

“I challenge Guna even to lodge a police report against me,” said Ramasamy when asked about Gunabalan’s disclosure about the “missing” gold bars to the DAP top leadership in a letter dated April 3.

Gunabalan, who heads DAP’s Jalan Tembikai branch in Bukit Mertajam, sent the letter to party national chairman Karpal Singh and copies of it to secretary-general Lim Guan Eng, adviser Lim Kit Siang, and state chief Chow Kon Yeow.

Ramasamy said that the board was currently carrying out an internal inquiry, headed by another commissioner, lawyer N Murali, on the missing gold bars.

He said Gunabalan was part of the board’s decision-making body that commissioned the internal inquiry, which has yet to complete its investigation after almost six months.

“Until the inquiry is completed, it would be premature to conclude that the three gold bars, weighing about 1kg, and worth RM150,000 each, had gone missing,” said Ramasamy.

He conceded that an internal inventory audit was not done for about three months between the resignation of previous secretary R Sivanathan and appointment of P Selva in November.

“Guna was part of the decision making… what he is complaining about?” asked Ramasamy, the DAP deputy secretary-general and Penang deputy chief.

He alleged that Gunabalan was attacking him because of the forthcoming general election.

He said the inquiry must first determine whether the gold bars were in fact missing before the board can take further action.

“Were the gold bars actually missing in the first place? If Guna thinks the gold bars were missing, ask him to lodge report. Ask him to lodge report against me,” said Ramasamy.

‘Ramasamy directly responsible’

It’s learnt that the board knew about the “missing” gold bars when Selva assumed his position.

Sivanathan lodged a police report in Seberang Jaya as a precautionary step when Selva sought clarification from him on the gold bars in an official letter in November.

It’s learnt that the police had recorded a statement from Sivanathan but have yet to interview any of the board’s commissioners.

In his letter to the DAP leadership, Gunabalan alleged “serious mismanagement” of public properties of the board led by Ramasamy.

He alleged that Ramasamy was directly responsible for all decision-making in the board.

In the letter, he stated that the “mishandling of the HEB properties led to the missing of the three gold bars.

“They were kept under the full authority of the HEB. There is no discrepancy in the inventory which was handed over by the previous HEB secretary when left.”

When contacted today, Gunabalan insisted that the onus was on Ramasamy as the board chairman, not him, to lodge the police report.

He said Ramasamy was the rightful, authorised person to lodge the report to expedite investigation on the issue.

Gunabalan said he raised the issue to DAP’s top leadership because the internal inquiry was taking a long time to complete its findings.

“A police report by the chairman would speed up and clear the case sooner,” he said.