KUCHING, Nov 18 — It is the state government’s duty to ensure all Sarawakians of different ethnicities and religions live together harmoniously and peacefully, said Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg.

He said Sarawak is prosperous because its people are able to live together without fighting.

"You have your own religion and I have mine, and we live happily and focus our energy on serving the people and growing our economy for the betterment of all and that of Sarawak.

"At the end of the day, all that we want is to put food on the table. We don’t want our people to go hungry,” he said during the Unit for Other Religions (Unifor) appreciation gathering here yesterday.

Abang Johari said there are many examples of Sarawakians coming together, putting aside their religious or ethnic differences, for a cause.

He cited the Covid-19 pandemic when everyone helped each other in a time of need.

"During the time of Covid-19, the faces of people were filled with anxiety because of the hard times they were going through. All the doctors, nurses, police, firefighters, volunteers, and other frontliners put aside their difficulties and committed themselves to serving the community.

"The Muslims carried the victims to hospitals and non-Muslims also did the same for Muslims too. Those are the values we uphold strongly in Sarawak because we help each other. We serve the people irrespective of religion or race,” he said.

He pointed out that Unifor was created because of the need to take care of all Sarawakians — to help non-Muslims with their religious facilities.

Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas said Unifor is evidence that the Sarawak government has successfully implemented a policy of inclusion among people of various races and religions.

He called Abang Johari a pioneer in Malaysia for successfully implementing a policy that preserves, nurtures, and promotes peace and unity among the people.

"With different religious beliefs, the people of Sarawak can live in peaceful conditions, cooperate with each other, have high religious tolerance, accept each other, and respect each other among the people of different religions in Sarawak,” he said.

Among those present were State Secretary Datuk Amar Mohamad Abu Bakar Marzuki, Deputy Minister for Transport Datuk Jerip Susil, and Unifor director Richard Lon. — Borneo Post