Hindu temples in Penang which have been mismanaged by their existing committees now risk being seized by the Penang Hindu Endowment Board (PHEB).

One such temple is the Kuil Sree Selva Vinayagar Hindu Paripalana Devasthanam in Prai which will be taken over by the PHEB this Saturday.

PHEB chairman P Ramasamy said the take over is 'legal' and based on Section 4 of the 1905 Hindu Endowment Ordinance (Ordinance 17).

He said the decision to seize the temple had also been approved by Penang Governor Abdul Rahman Abbas (photo).

“In 110 years since the ordinance was in place, this is the first time that Section 4 is invoked,” Ramasamy told Malaysiakini .

Ramasamy said the temple fell into a state of disarray due to conflict between various factions claiming to manage the temple.

He added the temple had also been de-registered by the Registrar of Societies as there were many complaints regarding its accounts and management.

“We were reluctant to take over at first but if we don’t, there will be no legal management or registration for the temple,” said the deputy chief minister II.

“So on Sept 9, the Penang executive council agreed to the take over the temple, and on Oct 16, the Governor gave his consent,” the Prai assemblyman said.

Ramasamy said when PHEB takes over the temple this Saturday, an interim committee will be set up after which, a yearly permanent committee will be appointed.

Locals to be appointed

He added while PHEB will oversee the management of the temple, committee members will comprise of members from the local community.

“We will also appoint external auditors to look into the accounts and properties of the temple and present the audited accounts to the board so we can start with a clean slate,” he said.

“There is bound to be resistance by those currently managing the temple but we have explained to them that we are here to safeguard the temple,” he said.

“We will only appoint locals from Prai to handle the committee and we will try to accommodate all groups,” he added.

“That way, we can put a stop to all the bickering, accusations and public complaints regarding the temple,” Ramasamy said.