Bunga Tanjong's Dissolution, Donation To Bakti Deemed Ultra Vires

PENANG, May 4 (Bernama) -- The Penang government regards the action of the Pertubuhan Bunga Tanjong (PBT) office-bearers to dissolve the association and to donate its funds to Bakti (Association of Wives of Ministers and Deputy Ministers) as ultra vires to its constitution and against the law.

Political secretary of the Chief Minister, Ng Wei Aik, said it was unethical for the PBT (Association of Wives of Penang Elected Representatives) management to dissolve the association or make decisions on it as they no longer qualified to lead it or be its ordinary members.

In his letter to PBT president, Puan Sri Chui Kah Peng, and faxed to the press here, he demanded that Chui clarify whether three-fifths of its 45 members had, on March 9, the right to make the decision to dissolve PBT and to hand over RM350,000 of its funds amounting to RM590,665, to Bakti as they had lost the right to be PBT members under its constitution.

According to the PBT constitution, membership is restricted to the wives of Penang assemblymen and parliamentarians, except from the opposition.

"There is no mention of wives of BN assemblymen and MPs and the association's registered address is the Chief Minister's Office, 28th Floor, Komtar," Ng pointed out.

"Therefore, accordingly, PBT should be led by and comprise the wives of the elected representatives of the new state government."

Ng also questioned why PBT had donated only RM240,665 to Penang charitable bodies and the rest to Bakti as the state government had also donated RM10,000 yearly to the association.

He said to resolve the issue, the money donated to Bakti should be returned to the state government and for Chui to address the legal and ethical issues before challenging the state government to a debate.

Ng said the Chief Minister was prepared to listen to PBT's clarification on the matters raised and asked Chui to contact him for a meeting with Lim Guan Eng.

Meanwhile, in a statement released here Sunday, Chui said she was disappointed that Lim refused to accept her challenge for an open debate to defend PBT and also to let him justify his allegations.

"After he has made baseless allegations against us in public, it is no longer proper and acceptable for us to discuss this behind closed doors," she said.

Chui also stressed that PBT was a registered society, not a government body to be handed over when a new government took over (the state).

"We were under the jurisdiction of the ROS and not the state government as Lim himself had admitted (Kwong Wah on May 1). We have acted in good faith and have done everything in accordance with the PBT constitution, and it's all above board.

"In view of Lim's rejection for an open public debate and Ooi's (Jelutong MP and blogger Jeff Ooi) failure to respond (to allegations against PBT) by the deadline, we will continue to take appropriate measures to defend our integrity and dignity," she said.

-- BERNAMA