BN disperses funds to Christian schools as Sarawak polls loom
By Clara Chooi, The Malaysian Insider
KUCHING, April 5 — Haunted by the spectre of upset Christian voters when campaigning begins tomorrow, Barisan Nasional moved ahead today to placate feelings with allocations for Sarawak’s mission schools.
In a packed function at the prestigious Pullman Hotel here this evening, Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin distributed RM6.35 million to representatives of Sarawak’s 127 mission schools.
The Deputy Prime Minister however stressed in his speech that the distribution had not been timed specifically for the Sarawak polls but was based on an allocation previously announced by the government under the 10th Malaysia Plan.
In Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s speech on June 10 last year for the 10MP, it was announced that RM70 million would be allocated specifically to aid mission schools in the country.
There are 407 such schools in Malaysia, 127 of which are located in Sarawak alone.
“For 2011, the government agreed to allocate RM31.6 million to the mission schools here. Of this, RM25.68 million is for development works and RM5.994 for administration,” said Muhyiddin today.
He said the RM6.35 was a portion of the RM25.68 allocated for the schools’ development.
“The remaining RM19.33 million will be distributed later, according to each school’s need. Some schools would need more for infrastructure works, depending on its condition.
“The amount will be determined by the special committee set up to overlook this,” he said.
Muhyiddin, who is also BN deputy chairman, also declared that the government was appreciative of the efforts by the churches in running and maintaining the mission schools.
“The contribution by the Christian community, not only in developing human capital but also in maintaining these schools, cannot be trivialised.
“So that is why we, in the government, decided to come forward to ensure that these schools continue to stay in good condition to help us educate the young.
“This is why we have decided to offer allocation to the schools. For one, we have also provided them with trained teachers, whose salaries are born by the government,” he said.
The ruling government had recently come into conflict with the country’s Christian community over the ongoing Alkitab bibles row.
A large segment of the community has been at war with the country’s government leaders over the latter’s move to detain and later “deface” 35,100 Malay-language bibles at the Kuching Port and Port Klang.
The books were impounded as they contained the word “Allah”, which non-Muslims in several states in the country are banned from using.
However, although the Pakatan Rakyat opposition pact is poised to fully capitalise on the row as fodder to aid its campaign during the polls, analysts have also predicted that the row may not be as big an issue as expected come polling day.
During a forum in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, last Thursday, the analysts predicted that the Christian uprising resulting from the Alkitab bibles row may not impact the Sarawak polls as much as expected if the community’s conservatives continue to shy away from politics.
“Influential? No, not very influential because the church leaders… the Chinese, the Ibans, the Orang Ulus and the Bidayuhs, the more vocal ones are the smaller, indigenous segment of the Christian population on a whole.
“But the more mainstream Christians, the bigger portion, the Methodists and the Catholics and so on, in my experience talking to them, they give me the impression that they are more concerned with the afterworld than they are of what is happening today,” said Professor Jayum Anak Jawan.
Indeed, during today’s function with Muhyiddin, Assistant Bishop for the Anglican Church in Kuching Right Reverend Aeries Sumping Jingan echoed this sentiment during his speech and when approached by The Malaysian Insider later.
“I would like to thank the government for this grant and for recognising the church’s efforts in the last 163 years.
“I hope the government will conduct such functions on a regular and systematic basis, to help the education of the youths.
“We thank the Prime Minister and Tan Sri (Muhyiddin) for being sensitive and attentive to the needs of the Christians in Sarawak and the country,” he said.
When approached later, Aries declined to speak about the Alkitab issues.
“I think we will leave it at that. The government has issued its 10-point solution and I think that is enough. We have not heard of anything else,” he said, smiling.
