A group of 20 held a protest in Prai today to support the retaining of four members of the Penang Hindu Endowment Board, who are political appointees of Penang Deputy Chief Minister P Ramasamy.

DAP national chairperson Karpal Singh had argued that he wanted the four - K Mangleswari, K Anbalakan, S Gunalan and E Jothi out of the board.

"In the interest of transparency, the board should not have any political appointees, as positions should be given to those who are "apolitical and on the ground"," Karpal had said.

penang assembly debates on interlock 050511 rayer reading The group, who held the rally for about ten minutes, turned up at the protest venue in Permatang Tinggi after a 45 minute delay although they claimed that 200 people would be joining the event.

They carried banners criticising DAP assemblypersons RSN Rayer ( left ) and A Tanasekran who have openly backed Karpal in his ongoing spat with Ramasamy over the latter's remark that the party should not harbour "godfathers".

The group claimed that four NGOs and two Parents and Teachers Associations took part in the protest, with members hailing from Prai, Kulim and Sungai Petani.

No intervention, please

Malaysian Indian Voice national vice president DR Raja said the group wants the quartet to remain in the board and urged other people and those from other races not to be involved in the affairs of the Indian community.

"We hope Pakatan Rakyat will respect and listen to our demands. We have always supported Pakatan, the Chief Minister, and his two deputies," Raja told reporters.

"We are Penang voters, and so far the board has been doing a good job, like issuing scholarships to needy students, helping Tamil schools and temples," he said.

"We feel it is really doing well, that is why we are here to voice out our feelings and to support the board. We do not mean to go against anyone," he added.

However, when asked why he was holding the incriminating posters, Raja said the group did not wish to see the two assemblypersons getting involved in the board.

He said his members do not wish to see "any hanky-panky" business in it.

Raja warned that if the four were dropped from their posts, the group would initiate another round of protests.

No outsiders wanted

Meanwhile, Raja said the Hindu community do not want outsiders to intervene in the affairs of the board as it is "the devotees who put in the money".

He added if there were to be any changes, it was the board which must decide, and that only the person appointed by the chief minister can decide on it.

"During BN's time, no one knew much about the board, but now they are doing an excellent job," he said.

"Just like in schools, the headmaster should do the headmaster's job. It should not be done by the gardener.

"The board should not be dragged into any problems faced by any political parties," he stressed.

karpal singh pc penang 180312 Nibong Tebal Tamil School PTA chairperson A S Maniam said last year the board gave RM200,000 worth of scholarships to needy students, regardless whether they were children of DAP or MIC parents.

Maniam said that those who qualified are entitled to the scholarships and they do not need to repay the board.

"We do not want any changes. We support Ramasamy who did a good job in the board as its chairman," he said.

"We respect the leader, but we do not want him to do a messy thing; you know who I am talking about," he added, hinting at Karpal ( right ).

Also present were representatives from Malaysian Indian Youth Council, e-Community Service and Penang Maruthuvar Sangam.

When contacted, Ramasamy said he was not aware of the rally in support of him, and denied that he was behind the protest against his two colleagues.