Do not milk Unifor for funds, urges Deputy Premier
KUCHING: Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas has pointed out the importance of adopting a needbased approach when seeking funds from the Unit for Other Religions (Unifor).
Having said that, he also cautions houses of worship against inflating their estimates merely because they perceive Unifor as having a surplus of funds.
“Such perception is illogical because Unifor is not a ‘milking cow’ for excessive project costs.
“It’s also illogical that some come up with very high estimates for construction or upgrading works just because they consider the unit has a lot of money to spare,” he said at a grant presentation ceremony held at his office here yesterday.
Uggah cited examples of some organisations proposing disproportionately high budgets, where projects costing RM2 million were inflated to RM6 million, while some proposed ‘overly-ambitious’ multi-million ringgit projects.
Uggah said the grants should be based on genuine need, rather than arbitrary factors, while the elected representatives should verify funding requirements accurately as well.
“Our policy is that Unifor will not entertain further requests for funds if you fail to utilise the first allocation given.
“The government’s intention is to ensure funds are utilised appropriately and efficiently.
“Projects should also start as soon as after the funding has been given,” he reminded.
Uggah also emphasised the need for transparency and accountability, requiring houses of worship to submit regular progress reports to Unifor.
He disclosed that Unifor had been allocated RM110 million, including RM20 million to assist mission schools in the state.
On the grant distribution ceremony, he said RM14.335 million was allocated to finance 32 projects across 20 state constituencies.
Among those who received cheques on behalf of their constituencies were Minister of Women, Childhood and Community Wellbeing Development Dato Sri Fatimah Abdullah; Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Dr Jerip Susil; as well as Deputy Ministers of Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Datuk Snowdan Lawan and Datuk Sebastian Ting.
Also present were assemblymen Tan Sri William Mawan Ikom, Billy Sujang, Wilfred Yap and John Ilus representing their constituencies.