Rain brings down roof

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Brittle spot: (Right) Khoo and board of trustees secretary Cheah Phee Guan inspecting the damage to the temple roof.

FOUR statues of deities in the 211-year-old Guan Yin (Goddess of Mercy) Temple in Penang were damaged by falling roof tiles during a downpour.

Nobody was injured and the affected section was ordered closed temporarily as a safety precaution.

The four statues which were damaged were the ones representing the disciples of Confucius.

Other 50-odd statues on the altar include that of Di Zhang Wang Pu Sa (Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva), Wen Chang Di Jun (Imperial Sovereign Wen Chang), Confucius and Choo Sen Niao Niao.

All the statues were either made of ceramic, clay or wood.

To a safer place: A statue missing its head and others that are partly damaged being shifted to the temple storeroom.

Many Chinese newly-weds come to the altar to pray to Choo Sen Niao Niao in the belief that she would bless them with children.

A temple employee discovered the damage from the Monday night rain at about 7am yesterday before alerting the temple’s committee.

Architect Tan Huat San, who was summoned to carry out inspection at the site, immediately ordered for the inner court to be closed.

He said the affected part will be covered with a plastic sheet as a temporary safety measure.

“The beam made of timber wood is infested with woodworms. It has become brittle and soft.

“We fear the surrounding parts of the affected areas will collapse if there is another downpour,” he said when met at the scene.

Tan said the area would be closed for at least three months for repair works.

He added that hoardings would be put up soon to prevent the public from going to the altar.

The temple, said to be the country’s second oldest temple after Cheng Hoon Teng Temple in Malacca, is managed by Kong Hock Keong board of trustees.

Historical literature on the temple noted that the East India Company donated the land to early Chinese settlers to be made into their religious and community centre.

Board of trustees vice-chairman Datuk Seri Khoo Keat Siew, who is also the temple Restoration Committee chairman, said they had foreseen the problem and had wanted to carry out renovation work.

He said the Penang Municipal Council had even approved their plans to carry out the task.

“However, we could not bring in craftsmen from China to carry out the renovation as the Immigration Department has yet to grant us their work permit.

“It has been more than three months and we hope the Federal Government can step in and help us expedite the matter.

“The temple that sits within the Unesco heritage enclave is a tourist attraction and an iconic landmark,” Khoo said.

He added that they had also written to Think City Sdn Bhd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Khazanah Nasional Bhd, for a RM5mil grant to carry out the renovations.

Think City runs a George Town Grants Programme (GTGP) which is a seed-funding initiative for urban rejuvenation projects within the George Town World Heritage Site.