Penang Institute is shocked to read reports, especially in the mainstream media, purportedly linking our organisation to funds from Open Society Foundation, an outfit backed by American businessman George Soros.
This allegation derives from a “leaked document” obtained from a website called DC Leaks. In the document, Penang Institute was listed as a beneficiary of a study grant for graduate fellowships at the Central European University’s School for Public Policy in Hungary.
We would like to state categorically that Penang Institute has neither received nor applied for any funds from Open Society Foundation. None of our staff have also received the Central European University fellowship as alleged by the document. In other words, Penang Institute has no links whatsoever to these organisations.
Penang Institute is the public policy think tank of the state government of Penang, and we do not receive funding from foreign sources without the approval of the state government. Therefore, the attempt to tarnish our image with these baseless allegations is nothing less than malicious. We reserve the right to take legal action if necessary.
At the same time, we also question the motive behind these allegations, particularly the targetting of various organisations and bodies which are known to be independent and critical of the ruling regime. We therefore condemn unreservedly the malicious campaign to smear civil society organisations and institutions simply because they are not aligned with the federal government.