Uggah said the Unit for Other Religions (Unifor) was set up in 2016 to provide grants to upgrade places of worship like churches, temples and shrines.

“This is not corruption — how can Baru say it is corruption,” he was quoted as saying during a visit to Bawang Assan.

He said the state government had been allocating grants to non-Muslim houses of worship since 2017 and to date has disbursed RM165 million, Borneo Post reported.

“With the existence of Unifor, it proves that the state government led by chief minister Abang Johari Openg is committed to help all Sarawakians, regardless of their race and religion,” he added.

After Unifor visited and donated some RM1 million to 41 Sidang Injil Borneo (SIB) churches in Lawas and Trusan recently, Baru said the timing was “questionable and raises many red flags” less than a week from polling day.

Baru, the PSB candidate for Ba’Kelalan, had urged voters “to condemn such mischievous ways of trying to buy votes” and to “reject those people who have no regard or respect for the sanctity of our church and our faith”.

Uggah called on Bawang Assan voters to support Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) candidate Robert Lau. He said Bawang Assan had been lacking development as its representative was from the opposition.

“I do not want to see Bawang Assan being left behind,” he said. Voters should not blame the government for the lack of development but themselves for making the wrong choice of representative.