The Penang Chinese Chamber of Commerce (PCCC) has expressed regret that its offer to Betty Chew, the wife of Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, to sit in its property services committee, has been politicised by certain quarters.

 

In a statement to the press today, PCCC said Chew had yet to accept the appointment and yet she has been criticised widely in the Internet, especially after a press conference it held on Jan 6 to announce its new committee heads.

 

"This has created quite a lot of turmoil and affected her quite badly," the statement said.

 

Yesterday Malaysiakini reported that speculation was rife whether she would accept or reject the post offered in her capacity as a practising lawyer based in Penang.

 

A highly placed source within the Penang government denied that Chew had accepted the appointment. She declined to comment when Malaysiakini contacted her yesterday.

 

Criticisms of citing conflict of interest has already surfaced as Guan Eng heads the executive council on land matters, while PCCC's adviser is well-known property developer and tycoon Tan Kok Ping.

 

However, the chamber said the various committees in the PCCC only wish to contribute to society, and has always maintained a close relationship with the government and other bodies, to consult and tackle issues regarding the economy.

 

"We help members to solve their problems, provide opinions pertaining to new government measures and policies involving commercial law and enforcement, to protect the interests of the business community," PCCC said.

 

"As the highest organisation representing the Chinese business community, other than managing the Chamber of Commerce, we also cooperate with the government and play the role of a communication bridge between the business sector and the authorities," PCCC added.

 

"Any professional, from any party, political background, ethnicity and gender, as long as you are willing to spend your time to serve the community using your expertise, are welcome to join PCCC's property development, construction and management committees," it stressed.

 

The chamber said that it always believes that doing business is to do good deeds. It then went on to enlist several contributions it made to society.

  • Last year, following the flood crisis in the east coast, the chamber collected donations worth RM200,000 by Dec 30 and handed it over to the Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation Malaysia branch to be given to the victims.
  • In PCCC's second golf competition last year, it collected RM200,000 for the Penang education fund and RM60,000 for six charitable organisations in Penang.
  • In 2008, PCCC donated RM602,000 to the Si Chuan province's earthquake victims and RM140,000 to Myanmar cyclone victims.
  • The PCCC said it has also contributed yearly to education in terms of scholarships to students.
  • In 2011, PCCC donated RM2 million to the Heng Ee High School expansion building project.
  • In 2012, PCCC contributed RM500,000 to SJKC Beng Teik to relocate the school and  RM100,000 to SJKC Moh Ghee for expansion.
"PCCC is a responsible and credibile NGO, our committees only contribute and preserve the right of our Chinese traders without any payment," the chamber said.

 

"We hope certain NGOs which do not understand our operations and had never contributed anything, can stop criticising us as they wish," the chamber added.