KUCHING: Mosque and suraus are the vital cornerstone of the Muslim community, said Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar.
The former de facto law minister said that during his tenure as Santubong Member of Parliament (MP) he made it a point to build at least one place of worship in each residential neighbourhood within his constituency.
He observed a dearth of places for Muslims to worship and realised the lack of emphasis on the importance of having such centres and took it upon himself to build at least 10 suraus and mosques between Tanjung Datu and Demak Laut.
“After the previous Pakatan Harapan government won the 14th general election (GE14), federal government funds for construction projects, including places of worship, in Sarawak were withdrawn.
“I then met with the Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg, and he readily approved allocations for the construction of suraus and mosques that were being pursued at that time,” he said after gracing the opening of the Al Falah mosque at Taman Mesra Bako here, last night (April 2).
He said that apart from funding and pandemic-related challenges, Wan Junaidi said various other factors contributed to the delay in the construction of the mosque (in Taman Mesra Bako).
These factors included acquiring the necessary land as an endowment and modifying land ownership rights, as well as obtaining cooperation from other agencies involved in the construction.
“It is a loss for the residents of Taman Mesra Bako, who have a well-organised housing area but do not have a proper mosque,” he lamented.
During the event, Wan Junaidi handed over a cheque for RM26,000 from the savings of his late wife, Datin Seri Norjanah Feona Sim Abdullah, as waqaf (endowment) to the mosque to build a storage room.
For the record, the construction of the Al-Falah mosque began in 2019 with a fund of RM600,000.
Also present were Wan Junaidi’s wife Datin Seri Fauziah Mohd Sanusi, daughter Sharifah Fariah Syed Junaidi and special task officer in the Sarawak Premier’s Office Helmi Hazmi.
