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Saturday 7 March 2009

Ganesha temple in trouble

By KHARLEE ZUBIN March 06, 2009 Malay Mail

The oldest Ganesha temple in the country in Petaling Jaya faces possible takeover by the Insolvency Department following a long-standing row among the administrators.

In the event this happens, it will be the first time a religious institution is subjected to such a disgrace.

The Registrar of Societies, Datuk Md Alias Kalil, has issued a showcause letter dated March 3 to the management committee of the Sri Sithi Vinayagar Temple on Jalan Selangor as to why it should not be deregistered.

The committee has until April 3 to respond to the registrar.

The Hindu community, whose elders were contacted by Malay Mail, expressed indignation over the failure of the management committee to run the affairs of the temple.

They said it was a shame that the committee, comprising professionals, had been incapable of running a religious institution.

They speculated that the problems were the result of infighting and a power struggle.

The 50-year-old temple, a Petaling Jaya landmark, is run by the Petaling Jaya Hindu Association that has some 400 members. Concerned ex-committee members and a group of elected office bearers who resigned en bloc in September 2008 had sought the intervention of the registrar.

In a letter to the registrar, they alleged that payments for certain work and purchases had been made by a senior official without the approval of the committee.

It was also alleged that payments were made to certain individuals to prevent the Immigration Department from taking action against the committee for employing illegal foreign workers.

Further, it was claimed that misleading information on the accounts was furnished by the committee to the registrar.

The president and the committee members were not available for comment.

The registrar’s questions

● To show cause why it should not be deregistered for irregularities by the management committee that contravened rules of the association;

● Why office-bearers were elected without an emergency general meeting called;

● How office-bearers were elected without an election;

● To explain alleged irregularities in accounting; and

● To clarify alleged misappropriation of funds.

1 comment:

Indian said...

Very unfortunate. Please see threats to Hinduism at http://victimofprejudice.blogspot.com/