By Amanda L
KUCHING, Aug 18: Sarawak will inject another RM55.4 million into houses of worship in October, taking the State’s 2026 funding for religious facilities to more than RM90 million.
Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas said the second tranche comes on top of RM34.87 million approved for 148 projects in the first phase.
“This is the first batch, and the second batch will be delivered in October. RM55.4 million is to be delivered,” he told reporters after officiating the cheque presentation for Houses of Worship 2026 (Phase 1) at the Unit for Other Religions (UNIFOR) Complex here today.
The latest allocation adds to Sarawak’s continued funding support for religious communities through UNIFOR, which Uggah said had received RM565 million in allocations up to 2024.
He added that the State government would also tighten oversight of the funds, with UNIFOR officers and the Sarawak Public Works Department (JKR) conducting site inspections to ensure approved projects comply with requirements and allocations are properly utilised.
Uggah, who is also the minister in charge of UNIFOR, said the inspections would help ensure projects were implemented according to approved requirements and that the allocations were used for their intended purposes. — DayakDaily
