By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, Dec 5: Sarawak’s Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas reaffirms that no additional funds will be allocated for projects under the Unit for Other Religions (Unifor) until the approved allocations for ongoing initiatives are fully utilised.
He made this statement yesterday (Dec 4) during the Unifor 2024 Appreciation Dinner at the Hikmah Exchange Event Centre (HEEC).
According to Uggah, 84 projects funded by Unifor have yet to start and stressed the importance of adhering to the unit’s strict policy on fund usage.
In addition to the uninitiated projects, Uggah noted that 563 projects have yet to submit status reports, urging religious leaders to provide updates promptly.
“Regarding the 563 projects that have yet to submit a status report, I call on the religious leaders to cooperate and send their latest reports immediately,” he added, stating that the status reports are crucial to ensure that projects are moving forward as planned.
Despite the backlog, Uggah emphasised the Sarawak government’s commitment to supporting houses of worship and religious organisations to meet their communities’ needs.
He also disclosed that Unifor has received 640 new applications for funding in the next phase, amounting to a total request of RM431 million.
To streamline and improve project monitoring, Uggah announced the development of Other Religious Services Management System (Orsem), a digitisation initiative aimed at enhancing efficiency.
“To introduce this digitisation initiative, a training session was held this year involving 452 administrators, including various synagogues, resident offices, and district offices,” said Uggah.
There were 825 participants from various houses of worship across Sarawak who attended the Sarawak Government Digital Service briefing, held in Kuching, Sri Aman, Sibu, Miri, and Limbang. –DayakDaily
