Shwedagon donation box rumours denied

http://www.mmtimes.com/no458/n005.htm

By Cherry Thein
THE Shwedagon Pagoda board of trustees last week denied rumours that donation boxes at the pagoda had been contracted to a private company for K500 million a year.

According to the rumour, which has been circulating on the internet via forwarded emails, the boxes were contracted about three weeks ago, with a private company paying K500 million a year to the board of trustees in exchange for the right to keep all the money placed in the donation boxes.

Board member U Win Kyaing said the rumour was untrue and that the donation boxes were still managed by the board.

“I don’t even know exactly what the forward email messages said about the pagoda because I’m not familiar with the internet, but I do know that we did not make any such contract,” he said.

U Win Kyaing said donations are collected from the boxes every day at 10pm by a team of monks, auxiliary firemen, pagoda security and other officials. The money is calculated and deposited in the bank the following day.

U Win Kyaing said that many services on the pagoda precincts are run by contract – including car parking, restrooms, shops and restaurants – but the main processes, such as security and donation boxes, are run by the board of trustees.