BAU: Two churches here received government grants totalling RM400,000 through Unit for Other Religions (Unifor) yesterday.
Of the amount, RM300,000 was given to the Petra Methodist Church and RM100,000 to Saint Mary Church, Kampung Suba Bau.
Tasik Biru assemblyman Datuk Henry Harry Jinep presented the grants during a visit to St Mary Church yesterday morning.
Henry told the congregation that Unifor was set up specifically to look after the welfare of other religions besides Islam in Sarawak.
“This is the uniqueness of Sarawak; it is the only state in Malaysia to have such a unit established in the Chief Minister’s Department.”
Henry said this year, the state government had allocated RM30 million to Unifor for the development of various houses of worship throughout the state.
He then jokingly said, “I do not know how you are able to receive these grants but I can tell that you all have been praying very hard.
“In all seriousness, let us all pray that the community will continue to have this supportive government that cares for the interests of other religions.”
He hoped that the funds provided would provide more conducive places of worship for the respective religious congregations.
