‘Houses of worship need support of all people’
SARIKEI: The building of houses of worship such as mosques, churches, temples and others deserved the support of all peace-loving people as they are places to spread the word of God.
However, it was unfortunate that lately, houses of worship had become the target of violence by extremist groups across the globe.
The recent shootings at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand and blasts triggered by suicide bombers in several churches and hotels in Sri Lanka which claimed a few hundred of innocent lives were examples of violence which in actual fact was inspired by ideology that deviated far from the true teaching of any religions.
Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas who made reference to these violence, reminded peace-loving people in the state to steer clear of the influence of misleading ideology.
“We also need to be alert at all times to avoid becoming victims of extremist groups,” he said in his text of speech read by an officer from the Unit for Other Religions (Unifor), Elder Ambrose Linang here yesterday.
Ambrose represented Uggah to perform the official earth-breaking ceremony for Sarikei Town Iban Borneo Evangelical Mission (BEM) new church building at Lorong 2, Dabai Road.
Although Sarawakians were known for their religious and racial harmony, Uggah urged all houses of worship in the state, in particular, to work closely with the police in ensuring their premises were safe.
On the proposed church project, Uggah said that it deserved support of all parties including individuals, business community, community leaders, elected representatives and others adding , each one of them could contribute in various ways.
“For instance, the business community could offer cheap price on building materials, the contractor might consider narrowing their profit margin and individuals could give small donations,” he pointed out, stressing, what we build together was the most appropriate concept house of worship.
Meanwhile, according to Sarikei Town Iban BEM Church chairman, Ilius Padang, the new church costing about RM2 million is scheduled to be completed in 2021.
They had started raising fund for the new church building since their application for the site was approved by the state government in 2016, he said.
During the function, Ambrose on behalf of Uggah announced a grant of RM50,000 from Unifor towards the project’s fund.
According to him, another RM50,000 for the same project which was approved in 2017 had been spent on site-clearing and earth-filling works.
Among those present were Sarikei District BEM Church chairman, Pastor Jemes Uda and St. Alban Anglican Church priest In-charge, Rev Father Rentap Nuang.