THE Ipoh Hindu Devasthana Paripalana Sabah could face deregistration and all its assets, including three temples in Ipoh seized, should they fail to improve on its financial management.
Registrar of Societies (ROS) director-general Datuk Abdul Rahman Othman said the association has been given three months to implement a system to manage its finances, following two incidents of pilferage in 2010 and this year.
”Given that this was the second time it has happened, the association would be given one last chance to make right its mistakes and improve its financial management.
”If they again fail to convince us that they have improved on their financial management capabilities, we will have no choice but to deregister the association and the temples under its management would be seized by the Insolvency Department,” he said in Ipoh on Tuesday.
“Once a matter has been raised with the ROS, we will either deregister the association or allow them time to solve the problem before any action would be taken,” he said, urging all associations and societies to always try to settle their problems internally before approaching the ROS.
Abdul Rahman said the ROS had received two complaints on the matter in 2011 and this year and the association had failed to address the problems, thus the need for serious action to be taken.
He noted that the first complaint concerned RM16,700 of public funds that were found missing from its coffers in 2010.
”The association had reached an agreement to get back the money through salary deductions from the employees involved,” he said.
”The second complaint was received in May and involved the disappearance of about RM40,000. Several association employees had taken some of the money and issued receipts with different amounts from the original donation.
“The matter was discovered later by comparing donation statements through an internal audit,” Abdul Rahman said.
”All the money that was taken has been recovered,” he added.
The association is one of the largest Hindu associations in Ipoh with several temples under its management.
These include the Sri Maha Mariamman Temple in Sungai Pari, Sri Subramaniar Temple and the Cave Temple at Gunung Cheroh. The association also manages a Hindu burial ground and crematorium in Buntong.
The association is also actively involved with religious activities in the state during Deepavali and Thaipusam.
Abdul Rahman stressed that should the association be deregistered, there were several implications that could affect the committee members and the Indian community.
”Those holding positions in the association will not be qualified to hold any posts in other associations for five years.
”We have taken into consideration that the association manages two of the biggest Hindu temples in Ipoh and its deregistration would affect the community,” he said, adding that a meeting with the association committee had already been held.
”Furthermore, there will be two huge religious events to take place in the next three months and we do not want to disrupt these,” he added.
When contacted, association president M. Dhamodaran Munusamy said they have an efficient procedural plan to be implemented to manage the association’s finances.
An accountant by profession, Dhamodaran said they would have a computerised system that would record all donations made and to issue a receipt to the donor.
”We will also hire a full-time officer to oversee the implementation of the system,” he said, adding that the money that had been taken by the employees had been recovered and those involved had been sacked.
”A police report on the matter has also been made,” he said.
Dhamodaran also said that there were certain quarters who were unhappy with the present committee and took the matter to the ROS.
”There are people out to tarnish our reputations because they could not be part of the association committee,” he said.
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