Premier: Religious harmony needs sustained institutional support, don’t just depend on individuals, events

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By DayakDaily Team

KUCHING, Oct 10: Sarawak must strengthen institutional support for religious harmony and ensure continuous engagement between the government and religious communities to preserve the State’s unity and not just depend solely on individuals or specific events, says Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg.

Speaking at the Interfaith Thanksgiving Ceremony held in conjunction with the 80th birthday celebration of the Yang Di-Pertua Negeri of Sarawak, Tun Pehin Sri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar, he said this is why the Unit for Other Religions (Unifor) is important as a platform that continuously connects the government with other religious communities.

“Unifor’s role is not limited to managing assistance, administration or programmes. More importantly, Unifor builds trust, creates opportunities for communication and ensures that the government and religious communities can continue to engage openly.

“This is the foundation of strong and lasting relationships,” he said in his speech which was read by Deputy Premier and minister in charge of Unifor, Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas, during the ceremony held at the Unifor Complex here on Friday (Oct 9) which was livestreamed by the Sarawak Public Communication Unit (Ukas).

Touching on the presence of Wan Junaidi and his wife, Toh Puan Datuk Patinggi Fauziah Mohd Sanusi, at the ceremony, he said that it highlights their relationship with Sarawak’s non-Islamic religious communities.

“Unifor’s role is not limited to managing assistance, administration or programmes. More importantly, Unifor builds trust, creates opportunities for communication, and ensures that the government and religious communities can continue to engage openly. This is the foundation of strong and lasting relationships.

“These relationships become even more meaningful when Your Excellency Tun and Toh Puan personally spend time with the community. They attend various community programmes and celebrations.

“This shows that harmony is not merely something we mention in speeches, but something we build through meetings and relationships. When we sit together, share food, celebrate festivals and get to know one another, we build understanding that may not be achieved through policies or documents alone.

“That is Sarawak’s strength—we choose to get to know one another despite our different beliefs,” he said.

Also present were Deputy Sarawak Premier Datuk Amar Professor Dr Sim Kui Hian, Minister for Utility and Telecommunication and Minister-in-Charge Dato Sri Julaihi Narawi, Deputy Minister for Transport (Riverine and Marine) and Deputy Minister-in-Charge of the Inter-Faith Thanksgiving Ceremony (Unifor) Datuk Henry Harry Jinep, Minister for Tourism, Creative Industry, and Performing Arts and Minister for Youth, Sports, and Entrepreneur Development Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah, and Unifor director Dato’ Georgina Apphia Ngau. — DayakDaily

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