The Penang Public Accounts Committee (PAC) will conduct an internal inquiry next week into the controversial cancellation of the ‘Kings of Tennis’ tournament.

Officials from the state executive council, Penang Island Municipal Council (MPPP) and the event organiser are expected to be summoned by the committee to assist in the inquiry, scheduled to be held at the Penang legislative assembly house next Friday.

Once it has wrapped up its inquiry, the PAC will submit a report on its findings to the House and make recommendations on actions and rectifications to be undertaken by relevant bodies to resolve the controversy and prevent a recurrence of such an incident in the future.

pac probe king of tennis 151108 jagdeep Disclosing this at a press conference today, PAC chairperson Jagdeep Singh Deo said the committee decided to investigate the controversy due its damaging impact on the accountability of the state administration.

He acknowledged that the cancellation had tarnished the reputation and competency of the state authorities as "so many wild accusations are flying around."

"We view the matter seriously and will get to the bottom of it," he told newsmen at the House, suggesting that procedural irregularities and a lack of communication among relevant parties could be factors behind the cancellation of the event.

He added that the inquiry was part of the Pakatan Rakyat government’s effort to strengthen the democratic structure and public administration accountability in Penang, adding that Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng had welcomed the inquiry when he was notified of it yesterday.

Apart from Datuk Keramat assemblyperson Jagdeep, others in the nine-man PAC are Pulau Tikus’ Koay Teng Hai, Pantai Jerejak’s Sim Tze Tzin, Sungai Bakap’s Maktar Shapee, and Permatang Pasir’s Mohd Hamdan Abdul Rahman (all from Pakatan Rakyat), Teluk Bahang’s Dr Hilmi Yahaya, Bayan Lepas’ Syed Ameruddin Syed Ahmad, Pulau Betong’s Muhammad Farid Saad and Seberang Jaya’s Ariff Shah Omar Shah (all from Umno).

The committee secretariat officer is the House assistant secretary Ezmil Ariff Mohd Khairan.

Worrying financial implications

"PAC is an impartial and independent body empowered by the House standing order to hold inquiry on urgent public issues," said Jagdeep, adding that the committee was empowered by Section 109A(4) of the Standing Orders of the legislative assembly to summon anyone to testify.

The section states that the committee shall have power to send for state government officers, papers and records, and may also write to any other person(s) to appear before it.

pac probe king of tennis 151108 dismantle The prestigious tennis event was scheduled to take place between Nov 14 and 17 in a makeshift grass court and 5,000-seat stadium in Esplanade and was to feature former tennis greats like John McEnroe, Pete Sampras, Bjorn Borg and James Blake.

Event organiser Arianna Teoh, who earlier claimed that the event was cancelled due to a lack of support from the authorities, yesterday assumed full responsibility for the debacle.

The Penang government and local municipality have come under fire for a perceived lack of competency in handling the whole issue.

Jagdeep said that the PAC was also concerned about the financial implication to the council and the usage of taxpayers’ money to repair the Esplande field after being damaged by the makeshift stadium, which is currently being dismantled.

The field recently underwent repair works worth RM800,000.