PRESS STATEMENT OF ARIANNA TEOH
1. I refer to the various press reports in relation to the "Kings of Tennis" tournament which was scheduled to be held on 14.11.2008 to 16.11.2008 at the Esplanade in Penang.
2. In press reports, it has been suggested by the Producer of the event, Show Administration Europe AB ("Show Administration"), that the event was actually cancelled by their company, due to my failure to remit certain funds to them.
3. I wish to refute this allegation as it was made without any basis whatsoever. The truth of the matter is, that I was hired by Show Administration as a Vice President for the "Kings of Tennis" event, at which time I agreed to organise and manage the event in Malaysia.
4. The budgeting, revenue and invoicing were obligations to be undertaken by Show Administration. Show Administration were obligated to set up a Malaysian company controlled by them to be named "Kings of Tennis Malaysia". I was supposed to be made a director of this company "Kings of Tennis Malaysia" in order to issue all invoices in relation to all sources of revenue pertaining to the event. This would include corporate boxes, sponsors and hospitality packages.
5. If and when this company was registered, it would have been the entity that would have received all funds for the event. As indicated above, these funds would have been under the control of Show Administration.
6. At no time was I under any obligation to personally remit funds to Show Administration for the event.
7. Show Administration failed to set up a company called "Kings of Tennis Malaysia". What they did was set up a company known as Profound Quality Sdn Bhd. This company was set up by Show Administration and was intended by them to be the vehicle for fund collection. This company was set up extremely late in the day despite my repeated reminders to them that it was imperative for collection of funds that this entity be set up and the necessary bank account opened as quickly as possible.
8. By this time, it was far too late to collect the projected revenue prior to the event.
9. Although I had lined up various sponsors and various corporate customers willing to purchase corporate boxes, I refused to collect any monies until the necessary entity was fully and legally set up by Show Administration. I did not want to be in the position of holding other peoples monies personally. The question therefore of me remitting funds to Show Administration could not have arisen.
10. I wish to stress that I have come up with my own money on various occasions. This was despite the fact that it was not my obligation to fund the event.
11. I am a Penangite and I am very proud to be one. I believe that for Penang, this was a golden opportunity to put it back on the world map. Penang has just received world heritage status and this event was to be the first global celebration of this fact. The event was to be held at the Esplanade which is completely surrounded by historical landmarks. Furthermore, the event was to be televised to over forty countries.
12. Those of you who have visited the stadium or even seen the picture of the set up, must realize that the local production team delivered a world class facility.
13. I therefore remain committed to promoting Penang globally. Although this is a set back for my team and for Penangites, I intend to do my very best to make up for this unfortunate episode.
14. Rest assured that the Esplanade will be restored fully as promised.
15. Finally, I take these allegations very seriously and will not hesitate to take any action in order to defend my position. I have engaged Ranjit Singh from Kuala Lumpur to act as my lawyer. If you require any further clarification please do not hesitate to contact him at ranj@rorl.com.my.
I really can't comment too much on this but to pray....pray for Penang!
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