The Penang Hindu Endowment Board (PHEB) has collected an estimated RM224,775 in donations during this year’s Thaipusam festival.
As of press time, this total excludes foreign currencies and other monetary items, which will be sent to the bank for verification.
PHEB commissioner and Batu Uban assemblyman A. Kumaresan attributed the generous contributions to the goodwill of devotees and expressed his gratitude to all donors during the funds-counting event held today from 8.30am to 2.30pm at Komtar today.
A total of 59 volunteers from government agencies, government-linked companies (GLCs), and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) participated in the counting process.
Earlier, PHEB vice-chairman Dr R.A. Lingeshwaran stressed the importance of transparency and integrity in managing the collected funds. The donations will be allocated for temple development, education, and other essential initiatives.
Representatives from the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and the police were also present to oversee the counting process.
Story by Edmund Lee
Pix by Lim Min Jun