KUCHING, Nov 23: Mas Gading MP Mordi Bimol today urged the state government to be fair to every religion in the state.
He said this in response to the announcement of a RM9 million allocation for a mosque expansion project in Serian by Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg on Wednesday.
Mordi opined that the amount is a little “unfair” when compared to the recent announcement of a RM30 million allocation for the Unit for Other Religions (Unifor) for 2019.
“The RM9 million for the mosque expansion in Serian is definitely good news for the people in Serian, especially the Muslim community. However, to compare this with the RM30 million allocated for other religions in Sarawak through Unifor is something that the Sarawak government needs to look into.
“RM9 million for one mosque, which is equivalent to 30 per cent of the total amount allocated for other religions throughout Sarawak (for 2019), is unfair for non-Muslims in the state,” he said in a statement yesterday.
Mordi claimed he had been fighting for the same cause in Parliament and expected the state government to understand this situation better.
“Both the state and federal governments should take this matter seriously. About 70 per cent of Sarawakians are non-Muslims, where about 35 per cent are Christians and most of them are in rural areas.
“I’m not against any allocation for mosques in Sarawak, but I am expecting for equal treatment of other religions in Sarawak,” he emphasized.
Mordi pointed out that the late Chief Minister Pehin Sri Adenan Satem had done a noble job with the establishment of Unifor, and his successor Abang Johari should continue this noble job with more allocations.
He argued that non-Muslims also paid taxes, and they deserved more state allocations.
“So much for us to fight for equality at the federal level, but at the state level, we fail to implement it.
“I hope our chief minister and his deputy (Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas, who is also the Minister in charge of Unifor) will look into this matter for the sake of our people in Sarawak,” added Mordi. — DayakDaily
