Compiled by C. ARUNO, MARTIN CARVALHO and R. ARAVINTHAN

       THE long-anticipated handover of the Bukit Tengah Mangala Nayagi Amman Temple to the Penang Hindu Endowment Board (PHEB) went smoothly on Monday, Makkal Osai reported.

       The temple committee’s former chairman Sekar Kandasamy, who had fought a court order for over two years, was present with his lawyers during the handing over ceremony.

       PHEB had initiated the effort to take over the administration of the Central Seberang Perai temple in 2018 following a public outcry over mismanagement by the previous committee since 2011.

       PHEB was represented by its chairman Dr P. Ramasamy, who is also Penang Deputy Chief Minister II, secretary R. Surentharan and executive director Datuk M. Ramachandran. State government officials and former temple president Hari Krishnan were also present during the ceremony.

       The handover was completed without any incident in the presence of officials and lawyers as ordered by the Penang High Court last week.

       Following this, a management committee will be formed soon to manage the temple and complete the halted renovation.

       The above articles are compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with a >, it denotes a separate news item.