PETALING JAYA: National unity minister Aaron Ago Dagang has assured the Penang government that it still has full control over the Penang Hindu Endowments Board.
Yesterday, the national unity ministry said the 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.
Penang chief minister Chow Kon Yeow then said he was “shocked” as the state government was never consulted over the move.
In a statement today, Aaron explained that the federal government, through his ministry, will only monitor PHEB under the Ministerial Functions Act 1969.
He said the ministry will also present PHEB’s annual reports and financial statements to the Cabinet and Parliament.
“I would like to emphasise that the Penang government still has autonomy, oversight, and executive authority of PHEB,” he said.
“The ministry warmly welcomes strategic cooperation between the state and federal governments to strengthen this institution.”
He said that the ministry for women, family and community development and the human resources ministry had in the past been responsible for presenting the board’s annual reports and financial statements to the Cabinet and Parliament.
PHEB 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.
Aaron said that after Malaysia achieved independence on Aug 31, 1957, the administration of the board was placed under the authority of the Penang government.
Since then, he said, the board’s chairman had been appointed by the state government with the approval of the governor. - FMT
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