By Jaythaleela K
MIRI, Sept 21: The setting up of the Unit for Other Religions (Unifor) in 2017 clearly shows Sarawak government’s commitment towards improving and taking care of non-Muslim religions in the state.
State Legislative Assembly (DUN) deputy speaker Datuk Gerawat Gala said Unifor is looking into issues of various houses of worships, including help financing the construction or renovation works.
“Back in 2017, the state government allocated RM15 million to Unifor and the amount was increased to RM20 million the following year.
“This year, the state government allocated RM30 million to Unifor to help other religions financially in building their houses of worships,” Gerawat said at a fundraising dinner to build a new Borneo Evangelical Mission (BEM) church building in Senadin.
He added that the increased allocation for Unifor demonstrated the state government’s seriousness and commitment in taking care of non-Muslim religions in Sarawak.
“This year, for the first phase, a total 109 projects valued at RM19.1 million have been approved by the state government for the purpose,” he said.
Gerawat also revealed that the state government, via Unifor, has approved a grant worth RM300,000 to help build the Borneo Evangelical Mission (BEM) church building project in Senadin.
The cost for the project is estimated at RM2.3 million and construction, expected to commence at the end of the year, will take about 18 months to complete.
The new church building will be known as BEM Conerstone Senadin Church.
Minister of Transport Datuk Lee Kim Shin, Assistant Minister for Tourism, Arts and Culture Datuk Sebastian Ting and Miri MP Dr Michael Teo Yu Keng were present at the dinner yesterday evening.
At the event, Gerawat also announced additional grant totalling RM100,000 to help with the project to complement the RM300,000 from Unifor. — DayakDaily
