Hot air 槟州处处可见 宗教融合 balloon 《珍珠快讯》 fiesta pg 5 第2/3版 buletin FREE Competency Accountability Transparency http:www.facebook.com/buletinmutiara MARCH 1 – 15, 2018 http:www.facebook.com/cmlimguaneng More than RM3.5m in RIBI aid given out Story by Tanushalini but the amount seemed to be little Moroter to carry out the upgrading work as Pix by Su Chin there are GST charges. “Hence, last year we decided THE places of religious worship to increase the maximum alloca- other than Islam (Tabung Amanah tion from RM20,000 to RM50,000 RIBI) fund has disbursed some per applicant,” he added. RM3,561,977.20 (as of March 13 According to Jagdeep, there is 2018) to churches, temples (Hindu a balance of RM5,709,475.30 in and Chinese) and gurdwaras in the state government’s ‘Tabung Penang since 2016. Amanah RIBI’ as of March 13, On the island, 24 Hindu tem- 2018. ples, 14 Chinese temples, 11 The criteria to be met by the churches and five gurdwaras have religious organisation to be eligi- received a total of RM 1,832,133. ble for the RIBI fund are: On the mainland, RM formal application letter to the 1,729,844.20 has been disbursed RIBI coordinating committee. to seven Hindu temples, 30 Chi- feedback/letter of support from nese temples, six churches and the assemblymember of the ap- two gurdwaras. plicant’s area. Upon meeting the requirements copy of the registration certifi- set, successful applicants are en- cate issued by Registrar of Socie- titled for a maximum allocation of ties. RM50,000 under the RIBI fund. list of committee members from The funds for RIBI which the the association/organization. state government is now disburs- letter of consent from the land- ing are collected from developers owner who could not provide RIBI space Jagdeep holding the RIBI list (those who have received help from ‘Tabung Amanah RIBI’). Status of the land ownership (providing RIBI space is under the (tax receipt/grant) council law) due to scarcity of plots for non-Muslim houses of applications, then in 2015, I pro- after the state government agreed map of the site (place of wor- land in their respective projects. worship to make some contribu- posed to the state government to to his suggestion, the money (from ship) Exco for Housing and Town & tion to the local councils. make use of the fund (RIBI fund MBPP and MPSP RIBI fund) was type of maintenance to be car- Country Planning Jagdeep Singh, “There is a formula used by the parked by MBPP and MPSP). channeled to ‘Tabung Amanah ried out during an exclusive chat at his councils to calculate the amount “I suggested creating a fund RIBI’ to be used to upgrade exist- three quotations for the pro- office on March 9, shared his to be paid by the developers ac- where the money from MBPP and ing RIBIs or building of new ones. posed renovation or work to be thoughts on RIBI. cording to the project, so that is MPSP (RIBI fund) are merged “On Sept 9, 2015, the state done. “RIBI basically began with the how it came about and this money into one fund which we call excos agreed to my suggestion to Those interested can check out local councils, Penang Island City was parked under the local coun- ‘Tabung Amanah RIBI’,” Jagdeep use the money to help out the RIBI the RIBI fund at the Town and Council (MBPP) and Seberang cils (MBPP and MPSP). said of his idea of using the fund in Penang to upgrade their infra- Country Planning Department, Perai Municipal Council (MPSP), “Originally my committee in a beneficial way. structure or to build new ones. 57th floor, Komtar or visit jpbd. making requirements to develop - (under Jagdeep’s portfolio) was Jagdeep, as chairman of the “Initially the maximum alloca- penang.gov.my ers who were unable to allocate only approving the land for RIBI RIBI fund committee, stated that tion per application was RM20,000 * Special reports on pgs 2-4 2 March 1 – 15, 2018 Boost for Taking concrete steps cultural towards religious harmony heritage AS in previous years, Chief Minister Lim Guan association Eng on March 12 provided an annual allocation Story by Christopher Tan of RM50,000 to the Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, THE Persatuan Teong Guan Pulau Sikhism and Taoism (MCCBCHST) for the Pinang received a pleasant surprise from promotion of religious harmony, understanding the Penang government when the state and mutual respect among the different faiths presented an allocation of RM10,000 to in Penang. the association in Komtar on March 2. “The state government will continue to sup- The allocation came as a surprise port within our means religions other than Islam because it was only days ago when to ensure that the provision of freedom of wor - Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng promised ship in the Federal Constitution is upheld,” Lim to assist the cultural heritage association said. in their effort to promote the Penang The chief minister also listed 11 measures Loo (sixth from left) and his committee members receiving the annual allocation from the state government. Hungry Ghost Festival (Phor Thor) as for the promotion of religious freedom which an intangible cultural heritage. have been implemented under his administra- 8. Giving a building at Scotland Road to A. Tharman and G. Munisanan, Taoism repre- It is learnt that the association was tion:- specifically manage the affairs of the exco for sentative Tong Weng Thye and Sikhism repre - working towards their aim to make the 1. Establishing a Penang Executive Religions Other Than Islam portfolio. sentatives Sukhindarpal Singh and Nachatar Penang Hungry Ghost Festival as one Council (exco) for religions other than the Islam 9. Providing an annual allocation of Singh. of the Unesco Intangible Cultural Herit- portfolio which is headed by the chief minister. RM50,000 to MCCBCHST. “This allocation from the state govern - age. 2. Allocating land for places of religious 10. Annual allocations to missionary or ment would be used for our welfare pro- “We deliver what we promised. We worship for religions other than Islam. religious-based schools registered under the grammes such as in giving out financial gave our word that we will assist the 3. Providing funding amounting to Ministry of Education. assistance during the floods in Penang which association and we are honouring it. RM30 million since 2008. 11. Apply for approval of paid leave for took place last year. Furthermore, the pro- “We do not delay our disbursement,” 4. Granting approval by local govern- state government servants to non-Muslims motion of religious harmony is very much Lim said before presenting the ment councils for construction of places wor- conducting religious pilgrimage similar to in line with the true teachings of every faith RM10,000 cheque to the association. ship for religions other than Islam. Muslims performing their Haj and Umrah. with a strong emphasis on compassion, kind- The association was pleased with the 5. Granting a yearly allocation of RM1.5 Representing the MCCBCHST to receive ness and being thankful for what we have,” quick allocation by the Penang govern - million to the Hindu Endowment Board (HEB). the cheque was its chairman Loo Keat Seng. said Loo. ment. 6. Giving a building at Macalister Road Accompanying him at the ceremony were his Also present were state exco members Lim, during the Persatuan Teong for the HEB to manage its affairs. committee members comprising Buddhist Jagdeep Singh (Town & Country Planning and Guan Pulau Pinang Chinese New Year 7. Ensuring that housing developers must representatives Chuah Cheng Ying and Thean Housing), Phee Boon Poh (Welfare, Caring open house on Feb 22, promised to provide for an equal amount of religious land Yoon Fui, Christianity representatives Arokia- Society and Environment) and Danny Law provide the allocation to aid the asso- for religions other than Islam. dass and Hwa Jen, Hinduism representatives (Tourism Development & Culture). ciation. Penang: A melting pot of different faiths & cultures.. A Malay dance performed during the Chinese New Year celebration. Now, that’s truly Malaysian! The 13.71m arch at the entrance of the Waterfall Hilltop Temple is noted for its intricate carvings depicting Chinese New Year in Penang will never stories from the Hindu be complete without the bright lights scriptures. illuminating from Kek Lok Si Temple. March 1 – 15, 2018 3 Story by Victor Seow JoachimRobert andKhoo shared Jagdeep Singh. Having theirrestoration journey with Apart from the monetary as- THE 14-month period from Aug Buletin Mutiara on March 8. sistance from the state govern- funds to run Joining “Two years back as the fund ment, what really touched the 15, 2016 onwards proved to be a challenging as well as satisfying raising chairman, I did write to hearts of Lau and his committee programmes period for members of the Church the chief minister’s office. On members was the personal inter- hands in of The Assumption Restoration Heritage Day 2016, he came and est and concern of Chief Minister Committee. To begin with, rais- visited the church and pledged Lim Guan Eng in their endeavour. ing RM2.5 million for the mam- RM100,000 (towards the restora- “Going forward, CM also took moth task was no mean feat, not tion fund). We were, of course, a personal interest in this project. restoring - to mention that the final objective very happy with the state govern I met him in KL when he was very was to restore the 158-year-old ment’s gesture,” said Lau. busy with his party’s CEC reelec- church back to what it looked like For the record, the state gov - tion then.