By Karen Bong
KUCHING, July 20: The Kuching City Day Street Parade may not be held this year but could be replaced with a street dance to add to the merriment of the celebration of Kuching’s 36th anniversary as a city, alongside the highly anticipated Kuching Food Festival.
Kuching South City Council (MBKS) mayor Dato Wee Hong Seng explained that while the full line-up of programmes for the Kuching City Day celebration has not been finalised, several factors are being considered for the parade, including budget constraints and major traffic disruptions in the city centre caused by both the food festival and upcoming Sukma Games Sarawak.
“The parade is not cancelled per se, but will be presented in a different format, possibly including a street dance. I hope to see students wearing outfits made from recycled materials to showcase their talents. We could create a competition so that everyone can join in the festivities,” he said during his ShallWeeTalk live today.
Wee highlighted that last year’s parade, held in conjunction with the 60th anniversary of Sarawak’s independence, was funded by the Sarawak government and such event is estimated to incur substantial expenses between RM500,000 to RM1 million, depending on the scale.
“When planning a celebration, we consider the overall programmes and activities. In recent years, focus has been on sustainability, meaning an event or celebration after many years of organisation should be able to sustain itself financially,” he said.
Wee explained that the annual celebration centered around the Kuching Food Festival involves appointing an organising chairperson responsible for sourcing funding after reviewing programme proposals.
The working committee will then present the entire event organisation proposal, including budget and programme lineup, to the main committee, which does not include the mayor.
Each major programme segment will be led by a councilor.
“If they can secure sponsorship funding, the parade can be organised. However, we must also consider the objective of organising this parade. This is what I have questioned,” he said.
Beyond budget considerations, Wee emphasised the need to address various issues, especially the severe traffic disruptions in the city, with people needing to move in and out of the city centre and the crowd drawn to the food festival, which will run from July 26 to Aug 18 this year.
“Consideration is also given to the parade route, given that the food festival will bring heavy traffic to the city. Over the years, citizens have complained about traffic disruption and difficulties finding parking.
“For another major event to be organised alongside, these issues must be addressed, otherwise it cannot be done. If the parade route is designated from Jalan Padungan to Padang Merdeka, it will definitely impact the traffic flow in the city,” he said.
Furthermore, Wee highlighted insufficient manpower as many MBKS staff members have been assigned to help and support in ensuring the success of the Sukma Games.
“There are quarters claiming that I am interfering their plans, but if all these issues can be resolved, I believe the parade can proceed,” he added. — DayakDaily
