Penang Hindu Endowment Board: Never ending politics of warlordism

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When Gerakan was holding the chief minister's postion in Penang until the year 2008, Indian politicians from within the Penang BN coalition (of which Gerakan is also a member), particularly from the MIC, PPP and Gerakan itself are full of political bickering when it comes to who are to be appointed into the Penang Hindu Endowment Board (PHEB). What else? Why Gerakan has more members in it, why MIC as the biggest Indian-based political party was not given the larger share of the PHEB membership, why PPP too, an Indian-majority party was left out and many more this and that.

Although PHEB was set up for religious and welfare purpose in particular, it has been wholly-politicised ever since. And when Pakatan Rakyat (PR) took over the Penang state from BN in the 2008 general elections, the traditions of letting politicians to run the affairs of PHEB has continued then. As the result, the almost similar BN political bickering in the PHEB has been passed on to the now PR-dominated PHEB.

First of all, why continue the BN tradition in the current PR state government? Didn't the PR state government realizes the massive negative impacts of having politicians in the PHEB? Instead of doing religious and welfare work for the benefit of the Indian community in the Penang state the "warlord" and "godfather" factional feud in the DAP are now doing more damages in the PHEB.

Come on, why can't the present state government learn from the past mistakes of the BN rulers? We already had enough with Umno bringing Islam into its politics of threat, hate and violence. The Christian organizations has not being inflicted with politics, so does the Buddhist associations, temples and centres who are now still free from any political interference but we cannot deny that many of the Taoist-based temples, mainly the Tua Pek Kong temples, as well as the smaller Datuk Kong temples are mostly controlled by MCA, but we cannot continue letting political games to control our religious establishments.

Religions, its associations, centres or temples are sacred places where people from all walks of lives could come in for cultivation, practice and to seek knowledge and blessings. As such, we should not let politics come in and to interfere in the affairs of the religious works and its day to day affairs. Otherwise, will it still be called sacred or holy in the end of the day?

So, our advise to the Penang state government, surrender all your so-called political powers in the PHEB and follow the examples of the Buddhists and Christians, by letting the religious experts run their day to day affairs. Only then, it can be deemed to be pure, clean, sacred, holy and free from any party politics.

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