RM21.6 million for schools, non- Muslim bodies
Published on: Thursday, November 02, 2023
Masidi presenting the State’s financial aid to Archbishop Datuk John Wong who represented the Catholic churches.
Kota Kinabalu: Sabah Finance Minister Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun presented the Sabah Government’s financial assistance of RM21.6 million to schools and non-Muslim religious bodies for the South West Coast Zone, recently.
Of that amount, RM7.77 million was distributed to 129 schools, RM10.92 million to 531 churches, RM2.63 million to 51 Chinese temples and RM270,000 to four Hindu temples.
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The presentation assistance session is the first for the South West Coast Zone which covers areas such as Kota Kinabalu, Penampang and Putatan.
This will be followed by five more sessions to be held for other zones including North West Coast, Upper Interior, Lower Interior, East Coast (Sandakan) and East Coast (Tawau).
Masidi emphasized the commitment of the State government to ensure that every sector of the Sabah community receives fair and just benefits.
“I would like to emphasise the importance of educational institutions in forming knowledgeable human capital for the development of Sabah. In addition, religious bodies also play an important role in fostering good values and tolerance among the multi-racial community in Sabah,” he said at the ceremony held at Banquet hall, Menara Kinabalu, here.
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Masidi also emphasised the importance of the State government’s policy of justice and equality in providing aid regardless of race or religion.
“I hope this aid can ease the burden of schools and religious bodies in the development and repair of their infrastructure,” he said.
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He announced that applications for financial assistance for the year 2024 will be opened from Jan 2 to March 31, 2024 and called on the private sector to support the initiative.
In 2023, the State government allocated RM54.05 million, with RM23.00 million for schools and RM31.5 million for non-Muslim religious bodies.
A total of 1,810 approvals were granted, which were divided into 346 schools and 1,464 non-Muslim religious bodies.
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