GEORGE TOWN: Restoration work on the 122-year-old Wadda Gurdwara Sahib here began yesterday and the RM6 million project is expected to be completed within two years.
Wadda Gurdwara Sahib president Santok Singh Ranjit Singh said that, so far, the state government has contributed RM1 million to restore the oldest Sikh temple in Malaysia.
"This gurdwara was originally from Fort Cornwallis and, at that time (1880s), the British brought in Sikhs to serve as policemen in Penang and, when their population started to grow, they had to build a bigger one.
"During Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee (celebrating the 60th anniversary of her accession in 1897), they requested and were given 50,000 square feet of land. Policemen at that time gave up a month's salary to build this gurdwara," he told Bernama at the gurdwara in conjunction with the Vaisakhi celebration today.
Santok said the gurdwara had to be restored without being demolished because the temple is recognised as a Category One National Heritage in Southeast Asia and called on people from all races to help raise funds for the restoration project.
Meanwhile, Penangites are invited to attend the annual Vaisakhi Open House on May 4 at Fort Cornwallis, where an estimated 2,000 people of various races will attend.
Its organising chairman, Harbinder Singh Harban Singh said visitors would also be entertained by Kamal Chopra, the Best International Artiste winner at the 2022 United Kingdom Bhangra Awards.
There will also be other Punjabi cultural performances and those present will be treated to a sumptuous spread of Sikh fare, like jelebi and chapati.
Vaisakhi is a major Sikh festival commemorating the spring harvest festival and marking the birth of the Khalsa order by the 10th Guru of Sikhism, Guru Gobind Singh Ji. — BERNAMA