Restoration work on oldest church in Penang expected to complete by October

GEORGE TOWN: The restoration and refurbishment work on the oldest Catholic Church in Penang is expected to be completed by October.

Church of the Assumption Fund Raising Committee chairman John Lau said the 2.5 million project was more than halfway complete.

He said work would take another three months and the contractor was keen to finish on time to avoid penalties.

Lau said the church has scheduled a soft opening on Christmas eve this year while the grand opening will be on Jan 1 next year.

He said the church was still short of RM500,000 in funds and hopes to raise more from well wishers and good samaritans.

"We have managed to raise RM1.5 million so far from fund raising activities and another RM100,000 was contributed by
Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng," he said in a press conference today.

Also present was Penang Bishop Datuk Sebastian Francis, Penang Housing, Town and Country Planning Committee chairman Jagdeep Singh and Penang Local Government, Traffic Management and Flood Mitigation Committee chairman Chow Kon Yeow.

The church was established by Captain Francis Light after he opened Penang island as a British trading post in 1786 while the building was completed in 1861 and the last upgrade work done on the cross-shaped structure was in 1928.

It was also in the news in 2014 after a molotov cocktail was thrown into the compound which damaged a shrine.

Jagdeep, who oversees the state fund on non-Islamic Religious Places of Worship (RIBI), had handed over RM50,000 to the
church for the restoration project.

He said the state has received 31 applications so far and RM800,353.20 has been approved for disbursal as of July 21.

"The ceiling amount from the RIBI fund for recipients has been increased from 20,000 to RM50,000," he added.