Kota Kinabalu: The Federation of Chinese Associations Sabah (FCAS) hopes the State government will continue to give annual grants to non-Muslim religious bodies and Chinese schools, said its President Tan Sri T.C Goh.
He commended the State government for providing annual grants in aid of non-Muslim religious organisations, Chinese independent schools and Chinese primary schools all these years.
“We hope the State government will continue with such a noble tradition, and also consider increasing such allocations, in accordance with their needs,” he said.
Goh, who is also President of The Federation of Chinese Associations Malaysia (Huazong), said this when speaking at the annual Malaysia Day mass prayer organised by the Ji Her Charity and Moral Uplifting Society (JHCMUS), here, recently.
Also in attendance were Goh’s spouse, Puan Sri Joanne Ho, JHCMUS’s President Tai Yong Keong, Jessica Basat, Deputy Director of Department of National Unity and Integration, Sabah branch, and FCAS vice presidents, Kapitan Fung Chun Fatt and Ng Young Wah, among others.
Goh noted that the State government under the previous chief ministers and current Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Haji Noor, has been very supportive of the activities and programmes organised by the Chinese community and various religious organisations.
“This was well reflected in the allocation of State grants to the Chinese organisations and non-Muslim religious bodies, annually. The total amount has been increased from RM38 million to RM47 million since Hajiji became Chief Minister of Sabah.
“We hope the State government will continue with such a noble tradition, and also consider increasing such allocations, in accordance with their actual needs,” he said.
Goh said every year the State government would also allocate funding to support the mass prayer organised by the Sabah Cultural Board, in conjunction with the Malaysia Day celebrations.
“The said programme which is in its third year, this year, was aimed chiefly to promote religious harmony among the people of different faiths and races, in line with the “Malaysian Family” spirit,” he said.
He also emphasised that it is important for Malaysians of various races to continue to preserve and promote mutual respect and understanding, in order to achieve greater unity and harmony, which is crucial towards nation building, stability and growth.
Besides this, he also said that the Chinese community should strive to achieve greater unity, especially citing its steadily decreasing population, which is currently estimated at 23pc of the total population of 32.7 million people.
Goh however believed the actual figure could be much lower as quite a number of them had migrated to other countries.
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