Non-Muslim religious houses can still seek funds yearly, says deputy minister

 

Malaysia Hindu Sangam has called for an evaluation of funding applications based on merit, urgency, and community impact.

PETALING JAYA: 

Non-Muslim houses of worship that have already received government funds can still submit new funding applications every year, says deputy housing and local government minister Aiman Athirah Sabu.

Aiman sought to clarify the barring of religious houses that received government funds from submitting new applications for three years, saying this rule was already in place under the law.

However, she told FMT these houses of worship can still submit fresh applications for government funds annually.

She said the ministry will approve these applications on a case-to-case basis, subject to the availability of funds.

“To ensure this mechanism is clearer, we are reviewing the guidelines for funding applications for non-Muslim houses of worship.

“Although applications can be submitted every year, its approval depends on the situation (faced by the applicants) and the availability of funds,” she said.

Aiman said the ministry expected to approve 200 of such applications at a cap of RM250,000 per religious house next year, with RM50 million allocated by Putrajaya for the maintenance of non-Muslim houses of worship nationwide.

As of Sept 30, the ministry had approved 422 out of 1,074 applications from non-Muslim houses of worship, totalling RM46.1 million in allocations.

Meanwhile, housing and local government minister Nga Kor Ming also gave his guarantee in a separate statement that his ministry would not block any applications, including from those that have previously received aid.

On Monday, Aiman was quoted as saying that non-Muslim houses of worship that have received funds from the ministry will be barred from sending in new applications for three years.

She was responding to Maran MP Ismail Abd Muttalib, who asked how the ministry planned to ensure these funds were not channelled to the same religious houses every year.

In response, Malaysia Hindu Sangam said a thorough evaluation mechanism should be put in place to assess requests based on merit, urgency, and community impact, emphasising the importance of the ministry being flexible with applications.

MIC deputy president M Saravanan said the funding rule was “idiotic, illogical, and absurd” and could erode support for the unity government, especially among the Indian community. - FMT