[1] The dispute in this case has its genesis in a document of some antiquity. It is an indenture of 1845, written in cursive, created by Queen Victoria on behalf of the British Crown, declaring a piece of 5-acre land be held as a public charitable trust for the Thai and Burmese community in that part of Penang Island where Burma Lane is now.

[2] The beauty of a public charitable trust is that the rule against perpetuity does not apply to it and it may well survive the reckless authority of time. The passage of time cannot generally thwart its public charitable purpose for so long as its charitable purpose is still relevant and not spent. Here it is for the advancement of religion of the Thai and Burmese community in Penang and being the religious or spi