Tuaran: The Federal Cabinet’s recent decision to drop proposed guidelines for Muslims attending non-Muslim events was wise as it was not relevant to Sabah, said Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor.
He said in Sabah, people respect each other.
“Take me as an example, it is impossible for me not to attend celebrations of the multireligious and multi-racial people in Sabah.“When my in-law passed away, I paid my last respects at St Philips church in Tamparuli.
That did not affect my belief and made me less Muslim. It is all about our akidah.
“In Sabah we are peaceful and live in harmony. Many of us have relatives who are from different religions,” he said, at the Angpow Festival organised by 10 Chinese associations and NGOs at Dewan Sri Sulaman, here.
Hajiji also expressed gratitude to the Chinese community for continuing to be partners in developing the state’s economy.
“The Chinese community has contributed to education development and we thank them as part of our bigger family,” he said.
He also said during his tenure as Chief Minister, the State Government set aside a substantial allocation for the development of Chinese schools.
“Last year alone, the State Government spent nearly RM480 million to develop human capital and education. This has never happened before. The total scholarships disbursed each year was only RM50 million before. But we increased it to RM128 million per year.
“We give scholarships to all eligible recipients. Last year we gave out a total of RM128 million to 12,000 students,” he said. Of the 12,000 students, he said 5,000 were Muslim Bumiputera, 5,000 non-Muslim Bumiputera and 2,000 Chinese.
He said the present State Government had also achieved much including signing the Commercial Collaborative Agreement (CCA) with Petronas that opened up many opportunities for Sabah in the oil and gas industry.
Sabah’s investor-friendly initiatives had also attracted much investments to the State, he said, and hoped the Chinese community would continue to support the present State Government to ensure all development plans can be successfully implemented.
