Sarawak's Harmony Evidence Of UNIFOR's Inclusive Approach In Supporting Multi-Religious Houses Of Worship
SERIAN: The uniqueness of Sarawak's social landscape continues to shine through the strong level of unity and harmony within its multi-religious society, thereby enabling an inclusive assistance approach to be implemented without the boundaries of backgrounds.
Sarawak Minister for Education, Innovation and Talent Development Dato Sri Roland Sagah Wee Inn said that the strength of relationships among the communities has been translated into the state's administrative policies that emphasise the principles of equality and mutual respect, where assistance such as funds from Unit for Other Religions (UNIFOR) are distributed fairly and comprehensively to various houses of worship.
“The unique unity and harmony that exist in Sarawak enable assistance such as UNIFOR funds to be distributed to all religions regardless of background.
“All of this can only be seen in Sarawak, nowhere else. Even though our leader is of a different religion than us, he still listens to the needs of the people through community leaders,” he said.
He said this while speaking at the Blessing Ceremony of the Holy Spirit Chapel for Kampung Rituh Labuan and Mawang here recently.
Meanwhile during the same ceremony, the Chairman of the Holy Spirit Chapel for Kampung Rituh Labuan and Mawang, SD Laum Rikes, said that the efforts to construct the church began in 2014 through an application to the area's elected representative at the time, before physical construction commenced in 2018 using accumulated funds.
According to him, the construction of the chapel was supported by various funding sources, including an initial fund amounting to RM370,000, UNIFOR assistance in 2020 totaling RM200,000, and an additional RM100,000 the following year.
He further explained that in 2024, an application under the Rural Transformation Programme (RTP) was approved for RM200,000, alongside an additional RM70,000 from UNIFOR to complete the construction and interior furnishings.
Overall, the construction and furnishing costs of the chapel reached RM940,000 as a result of the Sarawak Government's support through various assistance channels, including UNIFOR.—UKASnews
