Unifor pledges another RM500,000 for the St Basil’s Parish Centre project

Dr Sim (second left) hands over the cheque to Jose, witnessed by Uggah (centre) and the Right Reverend Danald (third left).

KUCHING (Sept 6): After pledging RM900,000 to the St. Basil’s Parish Centre project, the Unit for Other Religions (Unifor) will be contributing another RM500,000 at the end of this year, bringing the total grant to RM1.4 million in aid of the project worth RM5 million.

According to Deputy Chief Minister and minister-in-charge of Unifor Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas, Unifor pledged RM400,000 for the project in 2017, RM500,000 today and another RM500,000 end of the year.

He added that the church had raised RM1.8 million on its own, complemented by the RM1.4 million pledged by Unifor, but still fell short of RM1.8 million to meet the project cost.

“I hope you will be able to raise more fund. If not, we will discuss again next year,” he said before witnessing the handover of RM500,000 to St. Basil’s Vicar Archdeacon Jose Jol Endru at the church in Batu Kawa here today.

Jose received the cheque from Local Government and Housing Minister Dato Sri Dr Sim Kui Hian, who is also Batu Kawah assemblyman. Also present was Anglican Bishop of Kuching the Right Reverend Datuk Danald Jute.

He said it would take a few months for the project to complete its process of tender before taking off, adding that the project duration was 18 months.

After witnessing the handover of the cheque, Uggah also performed the earth-breaking ceremony for the St. Basil’s Parish Centre project, which consists of a multipurpose hall, a Sunday school block, an administration block and semi-detached quarters, is located adjacent to the church.

Uggah appealed to all church leaders and members to stay united instead of being divided by outside forces, which could put the prevailing unity and harmony at stake.

He observed that some other countries and even Peninsular Malaysia had had religious issues that were detrimental to national unity and harmony.

“If there are issues, please present it in a gentlemanly way,” he said, adding that there was always a platform for leaders to interact among themselves.

In Sarawak, he said the community was lucky to have Unifor, which he described as unique given that the state was the only one having such a unit.

Uggah said even the National Unity and Integration Department would look to Unifor as a role model to enhance national unity and harmony.

“There are problems in Sarawak too but we choose not to go to the papers (media) but find solutions to the problems,” he said.

He added that Unifor would continue to engage discussions with various parties to resolve some outstanding issues.

“For example, we feel that we shall avoid asking military to go into churches to check whether physical distancing is observed and practised,” he said.

With Unifor, Uggah said harmony and peace in the state would be further enhanced, and unity remained the foundation for continued development.

Earlier, the Right Reverend Danald said the Parish Centre would enhance the St. Basil Church’s ministry in children’s work and the church would be able to serve the community much better.

He thanked the state government and Unifor for the support rendered but was quick to add that the church needed more assistance.

“Unifor is more than just a department. It can enhance harmony and peace in the state and truly be a mechanism through which we can enjoy prosperity and at the same time to better serve one another. Unifor is playing a much better role than the National Unity and Integration Department,” he opined.

The Right Reverend Danald hoped that the Sarawak government would continue to be generous and extend support to St. Basil’s Church.

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