THE Sarawak government has given it assurance that it will continue to safeguard all mission schools, such as by funding repairs for dilapidated buildings. 

Deputy Chief Minister Douglas Uggah Embas said while education and schools are the purview of the federal government, Sarawak has routinely intervened in the repair and even construction of new schools.

His assurance comes after 21 mission and Chinese off-grid schools were earlier this month told by the Education Ministry that diesel supply for their school generators would be cut off at the end of next month.

The schools notified the Sarawak government’s Unit for Other Religions (Unifor) to seek the state government’s intervention.

The government did, and the decision was rescinded.

“The question was why (Petrajaya) picked mission and Chinese schools,” Uggah said at the groundbreaking of the proposed rebuilding of the Anglican mission’s theological college – House of the Epiphany – in Kuching today.

Uggah said mission schools in the state have played an important role in Sarawak’s development for nearly 200 years.

Many state leaders, including former governor Abdul Rahman Yaakub, current Governor Abdul Taib Mahmud, former chief minister Adenan Satem, current Chief Minister Abang Johari Openg and key administration officials were products of mission schools, particularly Catholic and Anglican missions.

Uggah, educated at a mission school himself, said the state government “will come and support” any mission schools’ request for repairs.

“The repairs will be looked after.”

Meanwhile, the 66-year-old House of the Epiphany in Jalan MacDougall will be demolished to make way for a four-storey building. Construction costs, to be borne by the state government, comes up to about RM7 million.

Uggah, who chairs Unifor, said Sarawak will also establish an interfaith council similar to the peninsula’s Malaysian Consultative Council Of Buddhism, Christianity Hinduism, Sikhism & Taoism.

To be named the Council of Elders, it will comprise 10 members and hold its first meeting next month.

Uggah said the council will deal with issues concerning the religions and in its relationship with Muslims in the state. – February 24, 2019.