GEORGETOWN, MALAYSIA, May 29, 2020: The Penang Hindu Endowment Board (PHEB) will recommend to the state government against the reopening of temples in Penang. PHEB chairman Dr P. Ramasamy said the board would submit the recommendation during the state Covid-19 meeting on June 2. “The conditional movement control order (MCO) is still in force and reopening the temples would jeopardize Penang’s green zone status. “We are against the opening of the 19 temples here next month, ” he said yesterday.
The National Unity Ministry yesterday announced that it had given the green light to 174 non-Muslim places of worship to reopen from June 10. Ramasamy claimed that National Unity Minister Datuk Halimah Mohamed Sadique had received “bad advice” from the Malaysia Hindu Sangam (MHS) which had recommended the opening of the temples. “It’s a hasty decision as the criteria for the recommendation were not made public and done without proper consultation with the state authorities. “The board should have been consulted as we are the entity on Hindu religious matters in the state and reopening of temples falls under the purview of the state.