Fixing A Temple

December 11, 2011 at 2:00 pm

One would think that efforts to renovate and restore one of the most important heritage buildings in a UNESCO-status Heritage City in the country would go more smoothly compared to other projects. Apparently this is not so, following reports that only 20 out of 35 carpenters and artisans from China have been given permits to come to Penang to work on the 211-year-old Goddess of Mercy Temple.

Kong Hock Keong board of trustees chairman Datuk Lam Wu Chong said he hoped the Immigration Department will expedite the permits for these workers as the restoration work which was initially expected to cost around RM5mil, but may now cost up to RM6mil due to the delay.

The Goddess of Mercy Temple is one of the famed icons on the so-called Harmony Street, where four different places of worship are found on a single street.

Read the full article:
Only 20 out of 35 carpenters and artisans from China have been given permits to come to Penang to work on the 211-year-old Goddess of Mercy Temple in Jalan Mesjid Kapitan Keling here.

Kong Hock Keong board of trustees chairman Datuk Lam Wu Chong said he hoped the remaining 15 would receive their permits as soon as possible so that repair work could commence.

“All the workers need to be here for the work to be done comprehensively. If only half the workers are here, then only half the work can be done.

“I am hoping the Immigration Department will expedite the permits for these workers,” said he said at a press conference where Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng handed over a RM100,000 donation to the board of trustees to renovate and restore the temple.

He said the restoration work was initially expected to cost around RM5mil, but may now cost up to RM6mil due to the delay.

Lim said the contribution which came from his special allocation was to show the state government’s seriousness in maintaining and restoring the state’s heritage sites.

Source: The Star

Photo (c) mckaysavage