Archbishop Simon Poh: Datoship acknowledges Catholic Church’s contributions to Sarawak

KUCHING (Oct 13): Roman Catholic Archbishop of Kuching Dato Dr Simon Poh has regarded the awarding of the Darjah Panglima Setia Bintang Sarawak (PSBS) to him as an acknowledgement of the contributions made by the Roman Catholic Church to Sarawak.

“It is in honour of our Catholic Church in Sarawak that I humbly accept this Darjah Panglima Setia Bintang Sarawak (PSBS) award, which carries the title ‘Dato’ from our Sarawak government.

“This is an acknowledgement of our contribution to Sarawak from the Archdiocese of Kuching, Diocese of Sibu and Diocese of Miri,” he said in his acceptance message following the investiture ceremony at the Astana Negeri yesterday.

Poh highlighted that over the years, the 62 Catholic Mission Schools throughout Sarawak have provided thousands of children with access to education, whether they reside cities, towns, or communities in the interior of Sarawak.

He also mentioned that the Catholic Church has constantly collaborated with the government’s effort to provide welfare services to those in need.

“Together with Unit for Other Religions (Unifor) and Islamic Information Centre (IIC), we have built trust and friendship among religious leaders to promote interfaith forums and inter-church dialogues for harmony and mutual understanding.”

On behalf of Bishop Joseph Hii of Sibu and Bishop Richard Ng of Miri, Poh expressed gratitude to the Governor Tun Pehin Sri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar and Sarawak government for recognising the contributions of the Catholic Church.

“We continue the task of nation-building and promotion of harmony, mutual respect and acceptance, as the daily way of life in Sarawak,” he said.

He also encouraged all Catholics and Christians to continue their good work of mercy and community building, working hand in hand with their neighbours and friends of goodwill for the common good of Sarawak and Malaysia.

Poh was among the recipients of state awards in conjunction with the 78th birthday celebrations of the Yang di-Pertua Negeri yesterday.