By William Isau
SIBU, Nov 26: St John’s Anglican Church here today received a RM70,000 grant from Unit for Other Religions (Unifor).
“This is the second time the government through Unifor has allocated (funds) to the church for its upgrading and renovation works,” said Deputy Minister of Education, Innovation and Talent Development Datuk Dr Annuar Rapa’ee.
On hand to receive the donation was the Vicar of St John’s Anglican Church, Archdeacon Joseph Dusit Ijau.
According to Dr Annuar, the donation clearly showed the government’s effort to ensure that all religions in Sarawak are protected.
“With this opportunity, I would like to wish a Merry Christmas to all my Christian friends. I would like to convey a message to my friends from other religions such as Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism to always celebrate this festival with each other.
“Because in Sarawak there is no religious issue and there is no hatred between religions because this hatred is something that has never been taught by all religions,” he said.
“Today, I as a Muslim came to the church. It does not at all challenge my faith as a Muslim because it has nothing to do with that. I came here to help by respecting each other,” he said again.
Regarding the grant from Unifor, he said the church still needed another RM200,000 to fund its renovation.
“St John’s Church is one of the oldest churches in Sibu which was built in 1965. I will help them inform Uniforto get the required amount,” he added. — DayakDaily
