Sarawak unit to curb cost bloating by non-Muslim religious bodies

THE Unit for Other Religions in Sarawak (Unifor) will push back against attempts by non-Muslim religious bodies to “bloat” the costs of projects to secure more financial allocations from the state government.

The newly appointed Unifor head for Sarawak, Datuk Georgina Ngau, said the value of projects must be based on actual quotations from contractors, not based on rough estimates by religious organisations.

“Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Dougglas Uggah has directed Unifor to stop attempts to indiscriminately increase project costs.

“The amount of allocations that religious organisations seek from us must be based on the actual costs, not just any amount they estimate.

“We must be strict on this while at the same time build up our relationship and unity with all religious bodies,” she said in a statement.

Ngau took over from former head Datuk Jack Aman last week.

On June 28, Aman said financial allocations given by Unifor in Sarawak to non-Muslim religious bodies for construction and repair of houses of worship, and repair of their educational centres must be utilised within a year.

Aman said for this year, the state government had allotted RM110 million for non-Muslim religious bodies in Sarawak.

Out of this, RM90 million is for building and repairing houses of worship while the other RM 20 million is for education centres like mission schools, he added.

Unifor was established when the late Tan Sri Adenan Satem was chief minister.

The present state administration under Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Openg had continued giving Unifor annual allocations. – July 8, 2024