THE Penang Hindu Endowments Board’s (PHEB) move to take over the management of the troubled Sri Mangalanayagi Amman temple in Bukit Tengah is strange, said state MIC chairman M. Nyanasegaran.

The Registrar of Societies deregistered the temple last August, citing mismanagement. It then asked PHEB, led by Deputy Chief Minister II P. Ramasamy, to take over the management.

Nyanasegaran said bodies registered with RoS are subjected to the Societies Act 1966, and not any other acts.

According to the law, the temple’s assets should be handed over to the Insolvency Department, not PHEB, he said, adding that the department should keep hold of the assets until the issue is resolved.

“Something is not right pertaining to the Sri Mangalanayagi Amman temple issue. If the temple is deregistered, then PHEB’s takeover of it seems to be very strange.

“If any society is deregistered, the property and assets should go to the Insolvency Department. The same should apply to the temple.

“So, in this case, until the issue is rectified, the assets should be in possession of the Insolvency Department, not PHEB,” he told The Malaysian Insight.

He added that the Societies Act should supersede the Hindu Endowments Ordinance 1906.

“The Societies Act was introduced after independence, in 1966. Technically, it should supersede the Hindu Endowments Ordinance.”

Being the only Hindu endowments board in Malaysia, Nyanasegaran expressed dissatisfaction with the way temple issues are handled in Penang.

“Only in Penang do we have PHEB. Other states like Kedah, Perak and all don’t have one. So, there is one rule for Penang, while other states have different rules.

“So, will Ramasamy go and interfere with temple issues in other states?”

On December 24 last year, a commotion broke out when Ramasamy and other PHEB officials went to the temple to take over its management.

He had said there was an attempt to prevent them from entering the house of worship, leading to the pandemonium. He linked the incident to former temple committee members.

Police detained six individuals for rioting. They have been released on bail. – January 4, 2020.