A splendid show of harmony
Large crowd transcends their religious beliefs to gather at Sarawak Islamic Complex to take part in Harmony Walk
KUCHING: More than 4,000 people from all faiths took part in the Harmony Walk 2017 themed ‘Unity is our Calling’, starting and ending in front of the Sarawak Islamic Complex (SIC), yesterday.
The 5km walk saw participants walk past the many houses of worship here – Sarawak Sikh Temple, St Thomas’ Cathedral, Tua Pek Kong Temple, Sri Srinivasagar Kaliamman Temple, and St Joseph’s Cathedral – which also served as water stations.
Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kuching, the Most Revd Simon Poh, said the inaugural Harmony Walk aimed to educate the community on the importance of harmony and unity.
“We are Sarawakians in Malaysia, we want to present the spirit of harmony to the world. This Harmony Walk is held in conjunction with Malaysia Day,” he said.
Poh pointed out that the walk and not a run was chosen to allow participants to walk side by side and talk together irrespective of race, religion, or social status.
“We walk as Sarawakians with harmony and unity in mind. Let’s walk for harmony,” he said.
Sarawak Islamic Information Centre CEO Zabariah Matali said
We are Sarawakians in Malaysia, we want to present the spirit of harmony to the world. This Harmony Walk is held in conjunction with Malaysia Day. — Most Revd Simon Poh, Roman Catholic Archbishop
participants from every faith had gathered for the unity of Sarawak and Malaysia.
She also thanked them for ensuring the walk’s success.
The Harmony Walk was organised by the Sarawak Islamic Information Centre in collaboration with the Association of Churches in Sarawak, Kuching Buddhist Society, Malaysia Hindu Sangam Sarawak Council, Sarawak Sikh Temple Association, and the Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of Sarawak to express and enhance the spirit of unity and harmony among the multireligious people of Sarawak.
The Kuching Buddhist Association is expected to host next year’s Harmony Walk.
Prior to the flag-off yesterday, participants joined a warm-up session involving taichi and aerobics.
The national anthem ‘Negaraku’ and state anthem ‘Ibu Pertiwiku’ were also sung before the flag-off.
The Harmony Walk was supported by, among others, SIC management, Tua Pek Kong Temple, O-Run-Utan Running Club, Petra Jaya Underground Running Club, Sri Srinivasagar Kaliamman Temple, Malaysia Ikram Organisation, Friends of the Centre, and The Warrior.