Penang Governor on his arrival at Fort Cornwallis
By V. Sivaji
(This article also has a brief description in Mandarin below)
Penang Chief Minister YAB Chow Kon Yeow praised the Sikh diaspora for their contributions and services despite being a small community.
He was speaking at the Vasakhi Festival held at the Fort Cornwallis premises last night.
Lending support was Penang Governor Tun Ahmad Fuzi Abdul Razak and his wife Toh Puan Khadijah Mohd Nor along with State Exco for Housing, Local Government, Town and Country Planning YB Jagdeep Singh Deo.
Others present deputy House speaker, Dato’ Dr Amar Pritpal Abdullah, State Exco YB Chong Eng, YB Yeoh Soon Hin, YB Phee Boon Poh, YB Ramkarpal Singh, Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Penang Mayor Dato’ A. Rajenderan, Datin S. Barathi, Penang CPO Dato Khaw Kok Chin, Dato. Dr. Kuldip Singh Sohan, President of Penang Sikh Association among others.
“The Sikh Community, although small in number, has contributed tremendously to the development of Malaysia and has always stood out and made your presence known. More importantly, your community is also most noted for the generosity and community spirit especially in times of need.
“I still remember how the Sikhs took the initiative to set-up food banks, opened their Gurdwara kitchens and prepared thousands of hot vegetarian meals for the victims during last year’s floods in Selangor and Pahang which happened in the month of December.
YB Jagdeep delivering his speech
Such initiatives are especially important in times of need, particularly during the difficult period when the Covid-19 pandemic was at its peak. They are also very much in line with the state’s *Penang2030* Vision, which aims to uplift vulnerable communities and reduce inequalities, as well as, to boost the participation of youth, women and senior folks in our community life,” he said.
He also added that on the part of the Penang State Government, various i-Sejahtera welfare programmes have been implemented since 2008, and these will continue with an allocation amounting to RM53 million this year.
“As a melting pot, Penang regards religious freedom as a fundamental tenet of our society’s cohesiveness and economic prosperity. We also greatly appreciate the involvement, role and contributions of our local religious houses of worship that always come forward with various efforts and initiatives on their own through the organization of various community-based programmes.
“Hence, as a gesture of appreciation and support, the State Government had disbursed a total of RM10.52 million since 2016 to assist the non-Muslim houses of worship to maintain their premises. This includes a total of RM499,390.00 for our Sikh gurdwaras in Penang. Moreover, since 2009, the state government has provided financial support to the Punjabi schools which to date, has amounted to a total of RM1.074 million.
“In fact, non-Muslim houses of worship also benefited from the provision of special financial assistance of RM1,000 on a one-off basis through the Penang People’s Aid Package 2.1 and the Penang People’s Aid Package 3.1 amounting to RM601,000 and RM324,000, respectively.” he shared.
Guests were treated to traditional Punjabi food and lots of song and dance followed.
槟州首席部长曹观友赞扬了锡克教族群的贡献和服务，尽管他们是一个小社区。
他昨晚在康华丽堡举行的 2023 年光明节庆典上这样表示。
此活动的嘉宾有槟州元首敦阿末弗兹及元首夫人杜潘卡蒂嘉出席，还有首相署（法律及体制改革）副部长蓝卡巴星和槟州房屋及地方政府委员会主席佳日星。
Cultural performances
