Penang allocates RM60,000 to repair fire damage at Kek Lok Si temple

 

Chow Kon Yeow (right) visiting the damaged prayer room with Penang tourism exco member Yeoh Soon Hin (centre). (Chow Kon Yeow Facebook pic)

GEORGE TOWN: The Penang state government will allocate RM60,000 to the Kek Lok Si temple after one of its buildings was damaged in a fire.

According to Penang chief minister Chow Kon Yeow, the money will be disbursed from the state funds for non-Islamic houses of worship.

Chow, who visited the temple today, said the fire, which occurred on Tuesday, did not damage the entire complex as reported by several media outlets.

“The state government wants to clarify that the fire at the Kek Lok Si temple complex affected only a small portion of it, not 70% as reported.

“It took place at one of the prayer rooms at the temple complex and the damage involved only a minor part of it,” Chow said in a Facebook post.

Temple trustee member Steven Ooi said the state allocation would be used to make repairs caused by the fire.

According to the temple abbot Venerable Xian Guan, the temple is currently closed until further notice.

Kek Lok Si, Hokkien for the Temple of Supreme Bliss, is touted to be the largest Buddhist temple complex in the country. It was completed 116 years ago, with work starting 14 years earlier in 1891.

A seven-storey pagoda featuring 10,000 alabaster and bronze statues of Buddha is the main highlight of the temple, followed by the 36.5m Kuan Yin statue which stands on a hill.

The statue was built in the late 1990s after an older plaster statue of the goddess caught fire. - FMT