| Rokiah Mahmud |
A TOTAL of $3,848,655 has been collected for the Mosque Construction Fund as of November 30, Pehin Udana Khatib Dato Paduka Seri Setia Ustaz Haji Awang Badaruddin bin Pengarah Dato Paduka Haji Awang Othman, the Minister of Religious Affairs said.
The fund mobilised at least $200,000 on a monthly basis and received overwhelming response from government employees, government-linked companies (GLCs), corporate bodies as well as the general public, Pehin Udana Khatib Dato Paduka Seri Setia Ustaz Haji Awang Badaruddin shared during a media conference at the Musyawarah Hall, Ministry of Religious Affairs extension building.
The fund mobilised $120,919 via Data Stream Technologies (DST) and Progresif Cellular Sdn Bhd (PCSB) from June 2 until July 16, 2016, the minister said, adding that more than 4,000 government employees including uniformed personnel and GLCs contributed their donations via banks, assigning a certain amount from their salary to be contributed to the fund.
According to him, donation boxes allocated at the mosques and suraus across the country further encouraged the general public to make their contributions.
The minister said that with the support of the Brunei Islamic Religious Council and with the consent of His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Haji Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien Sa’adul Khairi Waddien, Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam, the fund will be used to construct a mosque in Kampong Tanjung Bunut, replacing the current surau there. The project is estimated to cost about $3.5 million.
Pehin Udana Khatib Dato Paduka Seri Setia Ustaz Haji Awang Badaruddin bin Pengarah Dato Paduka Haji Awang Othman, the Minister of Religious Affairs, receiving the donation from Dato Paduka Haji Yahya bin Haji Idris, Permanent Secretary (Corporate and Governance) at the Prime Minister’s Office. – ROKIAH MAHMUD
The fund will also be utilised to repair and renovate existing mosques in the country.
The event also saw presentation of donations collected via DST and PCSB campaign.
DST’s donation cheque was presented by Abdul Latiff bin Pehin Orang Kaya Seri Setia Dato Paduka Haji Mohd Yusof, member of the Board of Directors of DST Sdn Bhd.
The telecom provider collected $104,507 through SMS campaign.
DST also presented its own contribution of $10,000.
Meanwhile, Normah Ahmad, a member of the Board of Directors of PCSB, presented a contribution amounting to $16,412 that was collected via its SMS service.
The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) also presented its donation amounting to $4,362.47 which was collected from officers and staff at the PMO. It was presented by Dato Paduka Haji Yahya bin Haji Idris, Permanent Secretary (Corporate and Governance) at the PMO.
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