VIP visitor: Dr Chua visiting Kek Lok Si in Ayer Itam, Penang, yesterday. With him are the temple’s abbot Rev Seck Jit Heng (right) and Penang MCA adviser Datuk Koay Kar Huah (centre).

MCA chief pledges to get RM8.6mil for Kek Lok Si

GEORGE TOWN: The MCA will try to get special funding from the Federal Government to further develop the Kek Lok Si Temple in Ayer Itam near here.

Its president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek said the temple required RM8.6mil to build a car park and for landscaping.

“I have given the undertaking that I will talk to Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen, and if the need arises, I will talk to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak for some special help.

“When I met the Prime Minister on Tuesday, other than talking about educational issues, we also spoke about funding for non-Muslim places of worship.

“The Prime Minister was very receptive and he said that there is special funding, and that I can go and see him on a case-by-case basis,” he said at a press conference after visiting the temple yesterday.

He was accompanied by temple abbot Rev Seck Jit Heng and its trustees.

In Bukit Mertajam on Wednesday night, Dr Chua called on the Opposition to stop harping on the racial divide in the country and instead find ways to resolve problems.

He said Pakatan had not achieved much in the last three years as it was constantly opposing everything and as a result of this, it was not addressing the problems of the various communities.