PENANG, Nov 15 — The Penang Public Accounts Committee (PAC) will conduct an inquiry into the financial loss incurred by the Penang Island Municipal Council due to the cancellation of the “Kings of Tennis” event this week.
Its chairman, Jagdeep Singh Deo, who is also Datuk Keramat assemblyman, said the closed-door inquiry would be held at the State Legislative Assembly building to find out why the tennis event, which was supposed to run for three days from yesterday at the Esplanade, was cancelled.
He said the inquiry was also aimed at determining the extent of damage to the field at the Esplanade due to the building of a special arena for the tennis event and who would be responsible for repairing the damage.
According to Rule 109 A (4) of the State Legislative Assembly Standing Order, the PAC has the power to call any state government official and to obtain the relevant papers or records, as well as call other persons to give their statements so as to ascertain whether the matter involved financial accountability.
“The PAC views the matter seriously and the inquiry is to find out the reasons for the tennis event, which was organised by a private company, to be cancelled,” he told reporters at a press conference.
At this stage, three witnesses will be called to cooperate and give their statements before the nine-member PAC.
Jagdeep said when completed, the inquiry report would be tabled at the assembly and made public, while the PAC could also recommend the kind of action to be taken against those responsible.
“I cannot disclose who are the witnesses to be called but the organisations or persons involved, including state executive councillors, can be called to give their statements.
“We are concerned about the damaged field at the Esplanade and we do not want taxpayers’ money to be used for repairing the damage. That’s why we are conducting the inquiry,” he said.
According to press reports, the prestigious tennis event was suddenly cancelled when the tournament organiser in Sweden refused to allow the tennis legends to play in the Penang event because the local organiser had allegedly failed to collect enough funds for the event.
The “Kings of Tennis” event was supposed to feature tennis legends like Pete Sampras, John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg.
Yesterday, the event organiser, Arianna Teoh, was reported as saying that she would be responsible for the cancellation of the event. — Bernama
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