Subscribe in a reader | Subscribe by Email Not sure who are the rest of the committee members, so we can’t really comment on how these 4 will impact the decision-making. Since its mentioned that previous state government had formed the panel, we can see that more responsibility for the state assemblymen. I hope they don’t suffer a burnout soon.
I think its high time for someone to keep track of the all the posts each assemblymen is holding coz I’m losing count.
That aside, we obviously we hope that with the addition of the assemblymen, future places of worship problems will not arise or will be solved amicably.
Four reps appointed to religious panel
THE Penang Government has appointed four state assembly-men from different religions to the Non-Muslim Worship Committee, a state body that deals with complaints and disputes regarding non-Muslim institutions. They are state Town, Country Planning and Housing Committee chairman Wong Hon Wai (Air Itam), state Local Government, Traffic Management and Environment Committee chairman Chow Kon Yeow (Padang Kota), Penang Hindu Endowment Board chairman A. Tanasekharan (Bagan Dalam) and Jagdeep Singh Deo (Datuk Keramat). Wong, who heads the committee, is a Buddhist while, Chow is a Christian, Tanasekharan a Hindu and Jagdeep Singh a Sikh.
Wong said the committee would deal directly with government agencies to expedite the handling of disputes and issues. “There are many issues when it comes to religion. The committee’s job is to help settle disputes regarding land issues, the location of new temples, churches and gurdwaras, cemetery placements and all other issues that affect non-Muslim religions,” he said. He said the past state administration had formed the committee and the appointment of the assemblymen was done at the state exco meeting last Friday.
When asked about the Gurdwara Sahib Bayan Baru Association’s appeal for a 0.4ha piece of land adjoining the Snake Temple in Bayan Lepas, Wong said Jagdeep Singh had highlighted the issue to the committee and they were currently waiting for relevant government agencies to provide reports.
