By Karen Bong
KUCHING, Sept 30: The three broken lifts at the seven-storey KMC Flats will be fixed soon after engineers inspect them and finalise the upgrade and maintenance.
Kuching South City Council (MBKS) Mayor Datuk Wee Hong Seng revealed that the maintenance including replacing some of the parts was estimated to cost about RM70,000 which Minister for Local Government and Housing Datuk Seri Dr Sim Kui Hian has approved funds for.
However, he advised the residents not to clean the corridor walkway by washing with water because the water runoff could enter and damage the lifts.
“It is also very dangerous as it can cause electrocution hazard. So just use mopping instead to clean the walkway outside your unit. Please also don’t throw rubbish inside,” he said, urging residents to care for the facility which they will need to use daily to go up and down the block.
Repair work for the lifts, he assured, will be carried out soon after details of the project have been finalised and imported parts have arrived.
Wee was met at the community programme by MBKS to present tilapia and mooncakes in conjunction with the Mid-Autumn Festival to the residents of KMC Flats at Jalan Ban Hock here.
On a suggestion raised by Kapitan Desmond Thian to transform an old and abandoned detached house, which probably had a century long history, for people to use for recreational and leisure activities, Wee said he was supportive of it.
“We know that the space of the flat unit is not big, especially for a big family. We understand that parents and children need some kind of space including for children to do revision and study.
“We will look into how to reuse that historical building for the benefit of the community. Maybe it can be transformed into a place for children to study in a better environment and a community centre for older people to get together and (take part in) leisure activities like reading newspapers,” he explained, emphasising that 60 to 70 per cent of the residents in KMC were elderly people.
As the Council is always concerned about the welfare and well being of the people, Wee said more dialogues and engagement will be held with the community on the ground to understand their needs and the council would strive to fulfill them.
“We will come back with ideas to propose to the residents before we agree on what to do with the building. We are here to serve with a result,” he added. — DayakDaily
