HEB Chairman and Penang Deputy Chief Minister II P Ramasamy said Thangavelu’s incendiary remarks were based on untruths and were defamatory to him and to the board.

Ramasamy added that the suit would name himself and the HEB as plaintiffs with Thangavelu and the Penang MIC state liaison committee as defendants.

“What they have written is unacceptable and is not based on facts.

“So, we are going to take a legal suit against Penang MIC and Thangavelu since they have said we have forcefully taken over temples and I have abused my position as chairman.

“I have instructed my lawyers to send a notice to them.

“I will give them time to reply to me why I should not sue them,” Ramasamy said at a press conference in Komtar today.

Thangavelu was alleged to have accused the HEB of the following:

• of “dividing and alienating” the Hindus in Penang through forceful takeovers of temples in the state;
• claiming the HEB action was “illegal and immoral” as it had interfered in day-to-day management of the temples;
• claiming the HEB had unilaterally held a separate Thaipusam procession, causing discord with the Chettiars, who had been traditionally recognised as the main organisers of the processions for the past century; and,
• that there had been no resolution of the missing gold bars from its office some years ago.

Thangavelu also said the recent court ruling against the HEB’s takeover of a temple in Batu Kawan was a prime example where the board had gone beyond its powers.

He also accused the board of “putting its nose” in temple affairs. The board has filed an appeal.

HEB Executive Director M Ramachandran said these allegations were distorted facts and lies.

He said the HEB had merely allowed temples to be built on the board’s land and this was not a “forceful takeover” as alleged.

“They are saying we are putting our nose into temple affairs. We will show that we have refused to meddle in temple affairs.”

On a separate note, Ramachandran challenged Thangavelu to a debate titled “What MIC has done in 60 years vs what Pakatan Harapan has done in eight years” in the next two weeks.

In issuing the challenge, Ramachandran said Thangavelu has been given 48 hours to decide if he was man enough to face him.

“We will show evidence how the MIC managed the HEB for 60 years. We will show proof and the people can decide after the debate.

“For instance, we will reveal that the MIC-run HEB had not collected rent for 17 years. Its offices in Komtar did not even have a proper chair when we took over in 2008.”

Ramachandran said his chief, Ramasamy, was also available for a debate, but he will only debate if his opponent was MIC President Dr S Subramaniam.

Ramasamy concurred with this, saying “if Subramaniam is a man, ask him to debate with me”.

Ramachandran said the venue of the debate and other matters would be taken care of by the board, if Thangavelu agreed to the debate.

Thangavelu has not responded to queries for comments at the time of writing.