SIMUNJAN, Nov 5: Three churches in Simunjan received a RM180,000 grant from the Unit for Other Religions (Unifor) today.
The churches are Sebuyau Ensengei Baptist Church which received RM140,000, while Kampung Sekendu St Anthony Church and Simunjan Methodist Church received RM20,000 each.
Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture Malaysia Dato Sri Nancy Shukri presented the cheques to the representatives of the churches in a simple ceremony today.
“The Sarawak government is always concerned and cares about the needs of the churches and houses of worship of other religions in the State.
“Churches play a very important role in strengthening the unity of the communities. As such, religious activities in houses of worship should be organised and conducted comfortably.
“The funds allocated through Unifor are appropriate to enable all religious organisations to repair, upgrade or build new infrastructure in their respective houses of worship,” she said.
For Batang Sadong constituency in which Nancy is MP, she hopes that this allocation will be fully utilised, especially for the construction of a new Sebuyau Ensengei Baptist Church, repair works of fencing and walls of Kampung Sekendu St Anthony Church, and repairing the fencing of Simunjan Methodist Church.
“When completed, I believe it will provide a more comfortable place of worship for the local people,” she added.
Nancy also witnessed the presentation of tablet computers to five Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) Sarawak students from poor backgrounds so that they would not be left behind from getting quality education while facing the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The contribution is part of the social responsibility of Sarawak UiTMCS Alumni Association (MITSA) to help the local community and students among the B40 family in Simunjan to ease online learning.
“Through this initiative, it will reduce the burden of the students and the difficulty they face in following online learning,” she said during the event held at Sri Simunjan Rest House here.
In addition, Nancy emphasised that MITSA also indirectly became the strategic partners of the government in enhancing human capital development. — DayakDaily
