Unifor owns no shares in quarries, timber firm, director clarifies
The Unit for Other Religions (Unifor) and the Sarawak Unit for Other Religions Charitable Trust are two different entities, serving different agendas and objectives, Unifor director Richard Lon has clarified.
Therefore, their roles should not be a cause for confusion, he said in response to Ba Kelalan assemblyman Baru Bian who had raised the matter on Tuesday.
Baru, who is also Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) secretary general, had questioned if Unifor owned shares in five quarries and a timber company.
According to Richard, Unifor was set up on April 27, 2017 under the Chief Minister’s Department (now known as the Department of the Premier of Sarawak), and that since its setup, the Sarawak government has given Unifor a total of RM255 million in grants.
“These were to assist in the repair, upgrading and building of houses of worship and Mission schools,” he pointed out.
“Next year, the Premier will increase the annual grant to RM100 million,” he added.
On the other hand, Richard said the Sarawak Unit for Other Religions (Unifor) Charitable Trust was set up in 2018 under the Charitable Trust Ordinance 1994.
“The declaration is cited as the Sarawak Unit for Other Religions Charitable Trust in December 2018 which came into force on March 29, 2018 as found in the Sarawak Government Gazette Part 11 (Vol. LXXII, NO. 29 dated 25 April, 2018),”
Richard said under this Declaration, the Unifor Charitable Trust “... is allowed to hold properties as described in the First Schedule and the properties are to be administered by a Board of Trustees” appointed under Section 4 of the Charitable Trusts Ordinance, 1994 (Cap.7).
“It too is allowed to carry out any activity particularly the development of commercial and industrial enterprises which appears to the Board of Trustees to be requisite, advantageously or beneficial for the well-being of the non-Muslim community in the state as described in part(e) of the Second Schedule,” he added.
Therefore the Unifor Charitable Trust does not acquire any share from the quarries or the timber company, he pointed out.
“Instead the state is granting those shares to be held by the Charitable Trust which will be a sustainable income for the benefit of any non-Muslim community of Sarawak origin or any religion, educational, training or research institutions for the non-Muslims in the state whom the Board of Trustees may determine and decide to be awarded the necessary benefits (Paragraph 2 (c) of the Declaration),” he explained.