WITH TWO DAYS to go before the curtains come down on the Penang House of Music (PHoM), Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow has suggested that the state has done all it can to help the tourist attraction and music archive centre stay in the Komtar complex in George Town.
"We have been according them a grant of RM500,000 (since 2021), but the recipients should know how to manage it well regardless of how early or late the grants are given," he told a press conference today.
He said this when told that the annual grants were coming in late, contributing to PhoM’s cost overruns since it reopened in 2022 following the easing of Covid-19 lockdown restrictions.
“Late or not, they were a form of assistance. The state cannot be responsible for how well you manage the grants,” Chow said.
He was also asked if Penang is willing to accept the closure of a highly ranked tourism attraction.
Chow said that he wished PHoM all the best in its negotiation with MyCreative Ventures Sdn Bhd, a federal government agency under the Communications Ministry, which is presently liaising with it on a rescue package.
In comments made to The Vibes, MyCreative chairperson Datuk Muhammed Bakhtiar Wan Chik has suggested that PHoM relocate to Kuala Lumpur so that it has access to a bigger commercial market.
He added that Kuala Lumpur City Hall or Petronas could be willing to become corporate sponsors.
Chow shook off claims that the state may want to do more for PHoM. He admitted that it may need to vacate the premise after defaulting on payment of rental.
PHoM founder Paul Augustin has said in a series of interviews with the media that that the delay in the grants coming in was unfortunate and has caused cost overruns such that it got caught up in a legal dispute with the company in charge of the premise at Komtar.
Augustin's contention was that Komtar is directly owned by the state government, hence there could have been a renegotiation on the rental and arrears it incurred.
Part of the commercial zone of Komtar, consisting of the first five floors, are apparently assigned to a private company which collects rental from occupants.
PHoM's 6,800 sq ft space at the commercial zone has a monthly rental of RM17,045.
On top of that, Augustin needs to settle wages of the workers, utility charges and other miscellaneous expenses.
The attraction was set up in 2016 with support from the then chief minister Lim Guan Eng who managed to secure an initial start-up fund of RM3 million from the Penang Water Supply Corporation (PBAPP), the state water concessionaire.
Among the shortcomings which crippled the establishment was the decision to remain in the original location at Komtar despite an apparent dwindling foot traffic to the state administration, as its commercial value dropped in the face of newer managed malls.
Komtar, the seat of the state administration is mostly populated by office workers, who seldom find the time to patronise tourism products although it is just a walking distance away.
The decision to remain in Komtar was prompted by the proposal for a Penang Arts District enclave between the nearby old Sia Boey site and Maccalum Street, but this has yet to materialise despite reports of progress.
The arts district was supposed to be chaperoned by once up and coming DAP star Tony Pua, who opted to not defend his Damansara MP’s seat in the general election last year.
PHoM goes the way of a few attractions and hotels which have closed following the ill effects of the Covid-19 pandemic which has bitten the country’s economy. – The Vibes, March 14, 2024
