By Noor Syahhira Hady & Nur Ashikin Louis
KUCHING: Fanning religious and racial sentiments will not benefit anyone, said Senior Minister (Works) Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof.
“Under the leadership of Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) state government, we prioritise Sarawak’s rights and freedom of religion to keep the harmony among our people.
“That is why Unit for Other Religions (Unifor) led by Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas, was established to look after the welfare of non-Islamic religions,” he said.
He was commenting on Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS) MP Nik Muhammad Zawawi Salleh’s remarks in the Dewan Rakyat recently who claimed that the Bible had been distorted or altered.
“On our part, let’s not bring this issue into Sarawak. We must maintain our strength through harmony in the state, respect towards one another and help each other regardless of race, religion or cultural background.
“Do not play that racial or religion card in this state. It does not bring any benefit to anyone,” he stressed when handing over a rural transformation project (RTP) at SK Tan Sri Datuk Haji Mohamed in Taman Malihah near Matang here on Sunday.
On comments by several parties who tried to link the issue to GPS which was working together with PAS under Perikatan Nasional (PN) federal government, Fadillah asserted that GPS was a separate entity.
“If they are using that as a point, what’s the difference with the Democratic Action Party (DAP) who had also worked with PAS before?
“At the federal level, GPS is not part of the PN. GPS is GPS. We are working together with the PN. Hence, PN plus GPS,” he said.
He pointed out that GPS’s struggle was to prioritise the state and its rights including freedom of religion to maintain harmony and stability.
“We proved this through the establishment of Unifor which obviously shows that GPS is different than what is reflected in Malaya.
“That is why we separate ourselves from the Malaya in terms of politics,” he said.
