Abang Johari: New Belaga mosque expected to be completed by October 2022

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Abang Johari (left) with Liwan (third from left) and others give thumbs up after gracing the groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of the new mosque.

BELAGA: The Muslim community in Belaga will have a new mosque soon with the new Masjid Daerah Belaga construction project expected to be completed by October 2022, said Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg.

He said the mosque’s construction was upon request from Assistant Minister of Utilities (Rural Electricity) Datuk Liwan Lagang, who is also Belaga assemblyman.

“Liwan asked for the construction of the mosque after discussing with Belaga Islam Welfare Trust Board chairman Datuk Awang Bujang Awang Antek.

“Where do you find a non-Muslim asking fund to build mosques? Nowhere else, only in this state and Muslims ask for funds to build churches.

“This is our lives in Sarawak. That is why we have such a great culture and society,” he said at the officiating ceremony of Belaga Waterfront today.

Earlier, Abang Johari officiated the groundbreaking ceremony of the mosque’s construction site.

Meanwhile, the mosque costing RM10 million would take two years to complete, from Oct 18, 2020 until Oct 18, 2022.

The new mosque will be built on a 2.6 acres land at Lot 1487, Block 2, Mamau Land District at Jalan Belaga-Tubau. The existing Masjid Darul Taqwa Belaga is currently located at the populated Kampung Melayu Belaga and is surrounded by houses with the main entrance road only four metres between the two houses.

Earlier, Liwan in his speech said that the mosque would be a symbol of unity and cooperation among all the people in Belaga.

He said the state government has always being fair in its allocation of funds to the different races and religion in this country.

“Through UNIFOR (Unit for Other Religions) also, for Belaga constituency alone, we received RM2.9 million allocation so far. This does not include Murum and other allocations such as Rural Transformation Project (RTP) and Minor Rural Project (MRP).

“This is the leader who always deliver what he had promised,” he said.

Also present at the event were Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Datuk Amar Dr James Jemut Masing Assistant Minister in the Chief Minister Department (Islamic Affair and DBKU) Datuk Dr Abdul Rahman Junaidi, Hulu Rajang MP Datuk Wilson Ugak Kumbong, State Deputy Secretary Datu Abu Bakar Marzuki, Kapit Resident Nyurak Keti and Belaga District Officer Juan Ubit.