KUCHING: The federal government has approved an allocation of RM3.6 million to rebuild the Darul Abidin Mosque in Kampung Tanjong Bako, here.
Santubong MP Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said the 40-year-old mosque built in the 80s has seen its fair share of use by villagers here and needs to be rebuilt despite its admirable appearance.
“If we look from the outside, this mosque is beautiful because it is well taken care of by the villagers, but inside, because it is made of wood, the condition is bad, the prayer room will also be flooded during high tide.
“Therefore, at the request of the villagers, the federal government has generously approved an allocation of RM3.6 million for the purpose of demolishing and rebuilding this mosque,” he told a press conference after attending the Mesra Bersama Rakyat Programme in Kampung Tanjong Bako here on Sunday (Mar 13).
He explained that the project will be implemented by the Sarawak government through the Implementation Coordination Unit (ICU) and the Sarawak Public Works Department (PWD).
He said the next course of action would be to present the development plan of the project to the villagers for approval.
“So far, I have been informed by the Tanjong Bako village chief that they have no other site to rebuild the mosque and we have to use the existing site.
“The chairman of the mosque also needs to discuss with the school to allow the villagers to use their surau while the mosque is being built, and we hope that the school will cooperate to help the villagers,” he said.
During the programme, the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and Law) also visited and handed over basic food aid to four families affected by a fire incident on Feb 8.
He noted that the house inhabited by 16 people from four families was completely destroyed during the fire.
“A total of RM50,000 was provided by the Santubong Parliamentary Service Centre for the purpose of rebuilding the victims’ house.
“The construction method may be implemented through gotong-royong, with the help of the villagers (Kampung Tanjong Bako) thus saving costs including the purchase of equipment and so on.
“If we get additional financial resources from the Sarawak government or Putrajaya, we can give much better homes to these fire victims,” he added.
