‘State govt very open in terms of religion’
Sarawak is very open in terms of religion and the current government under captain Abang Jo continues what Tok Nan (Adenan) said: ‘Religion is your personal affair with God’. It has got nothing to do with the state.
KUCHING: The state government under the leadership of its new ‘captain’ Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg is committed to upholding religious freedom and assisting all the religious groups in the state as what the late chief minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Adenan Satem had wanted.
Furthermore, with Abang Johari helming the state as the new Chief Minister, the state government is very open in terms of religion, Local Government and Housing Minister Datuk Dr Sim Kui Hian said.
“Sarawak is very open in terms of religion and the current government under captain Abang Jo continues what Tok Nan (Adenan) said: ‘ Religion is your personal affair with God’. It has got nothing to do with the state.
“But what the state government does is to help the religious groups like granting them land. Like this land (where the monastery’s function hall is sited) here, it was
Datuk Dr Sim Kui Hian, Local Government and Housing Minister
a state land. The state government proved that we walk our talk by not only giving land to the mosques and churches but also to temples.
“Sarawak is a leading example in Malaysia in giving state lands (to places of worship). Besides that, we also give funding for them to build temples, mosques and churches. These, we do it with sincerity,” Dr Sim, who is Batu Kawah assemblyman, said when handing over the state government’s contribution of RM500,000 to the Poh Ka Monastery Construction Committee at Jalan Uplands here yesterday.
The RM500,000 contribution by the state government is to assist in the construction of the proposed three three- storey blocks of Poh Ka Monastery at a cost of RM7 million. However, the monastery construction committee is still short of RM4 million for the project.
Meanwhile, the Poh Ka Monastery Construction Committee chairman Kevin Law said they were grateful to the state government for granting them the site for the monastery’s function hall, which was formerly state land.
“We are also grateful to Dr Sim. He helped us to secure this state land and helped us to secure state grant. Today is the fruit of his relentless effort and sincerity to help Poh Ka Monastery and Buddhism as a whole. That’s why today we are here to witness the handover of this RM500,000 donation. This is a memorable event for people of this monastery.”
Despite the assistance from the state government, Law said the monastery’s construction committee would still like to request for more assistance from the government to enable them to raise enough funds for the construction of the new monastery.
Among those present at the event were Dr Sim’s mother Puan Sri Datin Amar Lim Su Kheng, the monastery chairman Ngiaw Mui Khak and vice chairman JP Hong Boon Siong.