Third Harmony Walk to unite Sarawakians of various faiths

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(Front, from second left) Tahereh, Surinderpal, Lim, Ambrose, Poh, and Zabariah join others for a photo-call.

KUCHING: The third edition of the Sarawak Interfaith Harmony Walk here is expected to involve 3,500 participants.

It will be held this Saturday (Sept 14), to begin and end at the Sarawak Islamic Complex at Jalan P Ramlee here.

“The participants are expected to congregate in front of the complex at 6am. There will be warming up exercises followed by brief speeches from leaders of different faith groups prior to the flag-off,” Association of Churches in Sarawak (ACS) secretary-general Ambrose Linang told a press conference yesterday.

“The walk will be flagged off at 7am and participants will take a 2.8km walk through the heart of Old Kuching, passing through various places of worship before returning back to the complex.

“Several water stations will be placed along the route.”

Themed ‘Unity is Our Calling’, ACS is the main organiser of this year’s event along with Sarawak Islamic Information Centre (SIIC), Malaysia Buddhist Association Sarawak, Kuching Buddhist Society, Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of Sarawak, Sarawak Sikh Temple Association, Malaysia Hindu Sangam Sarawak Council, and the Kuching Tao Cultural Association.

Ambrose said those who completed the walk would be entitled for a lucky draw.

Organising committee chairman the Most Revd Simon Poh reminded those participating to wear face masks and also bring along umbrellas, due to the haze.

“Families are encouraged to bring along the youths as this event would instil love and care for each other. However, parents are also advised to refrain from bringing along young children aged 12 and below due to the haze,” Poh said.

Those interested to participate are encouraged to register early with their respective faith organisations.

Participants are required to wear white T-shirts and bring along Jalur Gemilang and Sarawak flags.

Among those present at the press conference were SIIC chief executive Zabariah Matali, Sarawak Sikh Temple Association representative Surinderpal Singh, Malaysia Buddhist Association Sarawak representative Lim Teck Hui, and Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of Sarawak representative Tahereh Bidanjari.