THE Penang Hindu Endowments Board (PHEB) collected nearly RM300,000 during the recent Thaipusam festival, according to PHEB chairman Prof Dr P. Ramasamy.
“The money will be used for temple activities and students’ scholarships,” Ramasamy, who is also the Deputy Chief Minister II, said in his speech at the state-level Ponggal celebration at the PHEB grounds in Western Road today.
“All the money we collected during the Thaipusam festival belongs to the community, not to the board members. We give back to the community.”
He urged temples to be transparent with their accounts and concentrate on helping the poor.
“Our accounts are vetted by the Prime Minister’s Department and every year we submit our accounts to Parliament. Some temples don’t give their accounts. I don’t want to name names.
“I make sure we’re a very responsible body and that no money is unnecessarily spent. There is no point praying and yet have no accountability. I make sure we safeguard public money.
“I feel all temples must emphasise on community work, take care of poor people. Don’t complain they are converted. Don’t emphasise too much on rituals, you can do the rituals but pay attention to the people who have no resources. When we take care of the community, they will take care of the temples,” he added.
When Ramasamy took over the rein of PHEB in 2010, he said there was RM3,000 in its bank accounts. Today, it has millions – from contributions and revenue generated by the assets it acquired on both mainland and island.
Even the land that PHEB now stands, he said, is worth RM60 million to RM70 million. It’s on lease by the state government. Recently, PHEB added an Indian museum to its grounds that already has a restaurant and an office.
Ramasamy said they are planning to hold a conference in Penang in a month or two to help other states on how to set up a Hindu endowment board.
That is to realise one of the promises in the Pakatan Harapan manisfesto before the 14th General Election.
Ramasamy said due to the success of PHEB, states with a sizeable Indian population, like Kedah, Perak, Selangor, Malacca, Negri Semblan, Johor and Pahang, are encouraged to set up a Hindu endowment board.
“Some states don’t understand what a Hindu endowment board is all about. We want to tell them about the ordinance and its purpose,” said Ramasamy, adding that the Hindu endowment board was established in 1906 (during the colonial days) in Singapore, Malacca and Penang.
He said the Hindu endowment board in Singapore later became a Hindu endowment bank.
PHEB, being a statutory body, has powers under the ordinance to take over a temple or Hindu property if it not well managed or is being abused.
PHEB has so far taken over two temples, but Ramasamy stressed that they are not interested in taking over temples.
“We want to let the ordinary people run the temples, but if there are (serious) problems, we have to take over. That’s what was done in Perai and also in Penang.
“Today we have 13 temples under the board. When I started, we have five temples. Many temples want to come under the board because they feel they can’t manage theirs.
“We’re good at making temples, but somehow we cannot manage temples. We’ve a beautiful temple in Ampang Jaja. It costs over RM2 million to build, but they later found it difficult to manage. The entire temple and property was then handed over to the board.
“We said we must explore all other possibilities before taking over any temple. That is the last resort and we don’t encourage that. We must allow the Hindus to manage their own temples.
“Hindu endowment board is not just about managing temples and properties. We can do a lot of social activities, the first thing is to give scholarships and financial grants to students. Today, students from Kedah, Selangor and Negri Sembilan asked us for funds. We don’t give loans, we give deserving Hindu students, maybe RM3,000, RM4,000 or RM5,000.”
Hundreds of people turned up for the state-level Ponggal celebration at PHEB grounds. Among them were Batu Uban assemblyman A. Kumaresan, Bagan Dalam assemblyman M. Satees and Sungai Bakap assemblyman Dr Amar Pritpal Abdullah, who is also the Deputy State Speaker.
The ceremony started after the arrival of Ramasamy, who was welcomed by a group of SJK (T) Mak Mandin students playing some musical instruments.
He then went from one ‘Ponggal station’ to another by pouring milk into the burning pot. There were in all 23 such stations. Hindus believe the boiling of milk until it overflows is to thank God for all the blessings and a good harvest.
A kabbadi game was also played for the entertainment of the visitors.
Story and pix by K.H. Ong